The Rebirth
by DarkMagicianGirl7
Summary: I didn't like my other summary so i decided to change it. Ok here goes. READ MY STORY. There hows that for a summary. The rest is up. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. I wish I did, but I don't. ^-^ Anyways this story and any characters that are made up are mine and Cassie's. So don't use them without asking.  
  
Just so people now this isn't just my story. My friend Cassie and I came up with this together. We're co-authors. I come up the ideas and she types them up. And the chapters will switch between Kitty's POV and Loren's POV. Enjoy!! ^_^  
  
************************************************************************ Summary: It's been years since the Animorphs went missing and the Yeerks are back. Now it's time for another group of teens to stop them, before it's too late. Fighting the Yeerks the same way the Animorphs did, by using morphs technology. They now the risk of failing could mean death or worse. Can they stop the Yeerks like the Animorphs were able to do years ago? Or is the Earth doomed?  
  
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Kitty's POV  
  
My name? You want me to tell you? Well, I can't. People can't know who I am, who any of us are, or where we are. But I'll tell you this: things are very wrong. Wars that were over have started again. The Yeerks have come back, or at least made themselves known to us. The names that I say may or may not be our real names.  
  
It started years ago. Even as I tell you, fighting is still going on. Sad things have happened to all of us. We are forever changed. I know that I would trade anything to be able to go back and stop that fateful ride in the woods that changed our lives.  
  
"Hi Mom!" I bounded into the barn. I was a spunky teenager who preferred to be running with animals than to be stuck in a building. Loren, my best friend, was with me. She was quieter than I was, but fun loving. Her ebony hair flowed past her shoulders in a straight line. But what caught most people was not her complexion, which was fair, or her hair, but her eyes. They were doe brown, and seemed to have something under them that was unexplainable. We had only met that year, but we had become fast friends.  
  
I dumped my book bag in the hay in a corner of our barn. The barn was a rehabilitation clinic for hurt animals. Not the kind of animals that you find inside your house, but big animals, the kind that roam in the wild. It still smelled of new wood, even though it had been there for more years than I could remember. The whole city was fairly new, actually. I never found out why for a very long time. The only thing that had been saved, I heard, were the woods in the back of our house.  
  
Today in the clinic, we had a hawk that had hit a power line, a rattlesnake that had been grazed by a car, a baby skunk that we had found, too young to live on its own, and that was about it. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Loren came in behind me and set her bag down next to mine.  
  
"How come you're home so early?" My mom worked at a park, preserving animals and natural habitats. It sounded like fun, actually.  
  
"I'm taking a week off, Kitty. I need a break." That was all she said to me, and she turned back to tending the hawk.  
  
"Okay. We're going out riding, Mom," I told her. Actually, she wasn't really my mother; she had adopted me. I didn't wait for her to answer me, and I ran out to the stables, which were connected to the barn. I selected two horses, and saddled one of them. Shadow, my horse, was black, with a wild look in his eyes. Breeze was a chestnut mare, much more calm than Shadow, and paced about the stable when I took her out. I saddled Breeze quickly while Shadow whinnied impatiently. When I was done, I led them both out into the bright sunshine, without saddling Shadow. I liked to ride bareback.  
  
"All right, here you go Loren," I said, and handed her the reins. She put her foot in the stirrup and leapt onto Breeze's back with ease. I jumped onto Shadow, and urged him into a gallop, leaving Loren behind me.  
  
"Kitty! Where are you going?" I didn't respond. I looked back, and saw her kick Breeze into a trot. "Come back here!" she yelled.  
  
"Come get me, Loren," I yelled back over my shoulder. She kicked Breeze into action, and sprang after me.  
  
I galloped into the woods, and Loren followed behind. Shadow was faster than Breeze, and we both knew it. But Loren still urged Breeze on. I held tight to Shadow's mane, and hoped that I didn't hit a low tree branch. I could hear Loren yelling after me, and the hoof beats of Breeze, but I didn't care. I loved riding, and I loved being outside. I had spent the whole day in a building, sitting in desks that were too small. I finally had a chance today to get out and do something.  
  
After a bit, I looked up, and slowed Shadow. I couldn't hear Loren anymore, or Breeze, for that matter. I looked around me. I didn't know this part of the woods. I looked behind me, and tried to see Loren. I saw her in the distance, and faintly, I could hear Breeze snorting and stomping about. I dismounted, and listened for a while. Shadow stood quietly, panting. It was a beautiful day, and the sun was shining. It wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold. Just right for the middle of spring. The life was beginning to return from the cold winter. There were buds forming on the trees, and I thought I could hear a stream a little off to my right.  
  
I led Shadow to the stream, and tied him loosely, so he could pace around and drink some water. Then I went back to where I had been, and waited for Loren. I knew that she had seen me, so I didn't call out to her. The woods were too peaceful to disturb. I looked all around me again. I thought I saw a rock wall behind clumps of shrubs, bushes and trees. I thought it was a cave, but I made myself wait for Loren.  
  
When she finally got there, Breeze was panting and sweating. I led them both to where I had left Shadow. He was still there, drinking happily. I tied Breeze up next to him, and Loren and I raced back to the spot. She beat me by a second. She was always a better runner than I was.  
  
"Well," she said panting, "what do we do now? Why did we come here? I've never seen this place before."  
  
"Me neither. But come here, I want you to see something. I don't know what it is."  
  
"Sure." We walked over to the rock wall. Sure enough, it was a cave. The black opening was twice as tall as me, and about five times as wide. Loren followed me into the cave, and we looked around. There seemed to be a long, straight passage in front of us but I couldn't see well enough to tell. I could only make out vague outlines here and there. We walked a little ways, when Loren stopped.  
  
"What is it Loren?" I asked softly  
  
"I don't know. I just get a weird feeling about this. I'm going to stay outside and wait for you. Have fun exploring."  
  
"Loren," I called after her, but she had turned and started running out. I wanted to explore this place, so I let her leave, and started walking again. The tunnel opened up into a very vast chamber. It was lit very dimly, though how, I couldn't say.  
  
I wandered blindly toward the light. I had no idea where I was going. But I knew I was going the right way. Something said that in the back of my mind, and the light kept getting brighter. It was a bluish light, but it eventually got so bright that it was white.  
  
Shading my eyes, I moved closer and closer. It was too bright now to see. I bumped into a wall, and my foot touched something hard. I bent down to look, and the light grew dimmer as my gaze moved.  
  
What I saw was a little iridescent blue cube, partially buried in the cave floor. Being curious, I picked it up and examined it. It was about a foot on each side. The blue seemed to have hidden depths, which I couldn't fathom. I stopped staring at it, and looked around me.  
  
I realized that the light was gone, and I was again in darkness. I started to move around, to try to trace my steps back to where I had come from. I banged into another wall. In the middle of a muttered curse, I heard Loren's voice somewhere in the blackness behind me.  
  
"Kitty?" she said into the dark. "Kitty, where are you?" She sounded scared, so I tried to follow in the direction of her voice.  
  
"Loren, I'm right here," I said softly, as not to scare her. She scared easily, but I loved the adrenaline. "Just follow my voice, Loren."  
  
"Kitty? I can't see you." We were getting closer, I could tell. Finally, with outstretched hands, we met. "Kitty, let's get out of here. I don't like it."  
  
"Then why did you come in here?"  
  
"I didn't like it out there, alone." I smiled silently in the pitch black of the cave.  
  
"All right. I'm done exploring now. We can go." I heard a sigh of relief escape her lips.  
  
We turned around and started walking. I felt a slight breeze to my right, and turned that way. I commented on it to Loren, and she said something about nature girls under her breath. I would have played around with her, but she was too frightened; she would have taken it the wrong way. Finally, we exited the tunnel. What we saw was not the outside.  
  
It was like we had been transported to a different dimension. The trees there were not brown on bottom or green on top. The grass was coarse and rough, parts of it an aqua color, and parts of it pure emerald green, but nothing like what I had just left.  
  
I edged myself around some of the trees, and heard Loren whimpering. "Hush," I said softly. "It's okay." I turned my back on her, and went stalking silently through the long grass.  
  
When I stopped, a tree loomed in front of me. The bark was rough, like a palm tree, but its leaves were out of this world. They were such an odd shape! They were almost star-shaped, but they had seven points, and were a pal shade of pink. The trunks were blue.  
  
I don't know how long I stood there, mesmerized by the strange beauty of this strange place. I looked up, and the ceiling to the cavern was too far up for me to see it. My eyes slowly worked their way down the side of the big chamber, and to the other side of the circle of trees. But it wasn't the trees that shocked me.  
  
In the middle of the chamber, there was some sort of creature, standing perfectly still among the tall grass and odd-colored trees. It also was a very odd color. It's fur was a dull blue-green. My gaze moved to what I assumed to be the head, and noticed two things growing out of it. They looked like long, slender bean stalks. I gasped, and covered my mouth. I hear Loren whimpering again, and assumed that she had just discovered the same thing. I moved a little, to the front of the creature, and back all the way to the wall, so I wasn't too close. Its face was not formed in a way that I had seen any animal's face. And I had worked with a lot of animals. There were two almond-shaped eyes, about where they should be, but instead of a nose, it had three slits, almost like gills. There was no mouth.  
  
I was sickened for a moment, but then curiosity again got the better of me. I moved around to its side, and noticed that it was shaped like a centaur. Its upper body stood free of its horse-like middle and rear. There were two small blue-green arms coming out of the upright portion of it, and it was standing on four hoofed legs.  
  
That wasn't the worst part. Its tail was longer than any horse's tail, but by then I should have realized that I couldn't compare this creature to anything that I knew on Earth. It was supple, and covered in hair, almost like a cat's tail, but much thicker and stronger. It was thick at the base, and proceeded to get thinner and thinner until it reached the tip. At the tip was a golden sickle-shaped blade, which I assumed was probably as sharp as it looked. I muffled a small cry as eyes appeared on top of the stalks, and the whole body turned to face me. It was advancing on me.  
  
I ran near the wall to the right. I finally caught up with Loren, and she and I both ran. Then all of a sudden, she was gone. I could hear her scream, but I couldn't do anything about it, because I had a big, horse- like creature following me. I ran into a wall again, and turned around. The blue box in my hands was vibrating slightly. The shock of that almost made me let go of it, but I held on. I had a feeling that this thing was of great importance. I held it in front of me, and the creature stopped moving. I then veered around to its right side, and the tail flicked up so fast that I couldn't see it in movement. The only thing that I perceived after that was the golden blade a few inches from the base of my throat.  
  
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Please review the story. And don't be afraid to point out any mistakes. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. I wish I did, but I don't. ^-^ Anyways this story and any characters that are made up are mine and Cassie's. So don't use them without asking.  
  
Just so people now this isn't just my story. My friend Cassie and I came up with this together. We're co-authors. I come up the ideas and she types them up. And the chapters will switch between Kitty's POV and Loren's POV. Enjoy!! ^_^  
  
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Loren's POV  
  
I was running through a very dark space With Kitty at my side, fleeing from the blue-green monster. All of a sudden, the wall gave away, and I tumbled to the right. I landed hard on my side, and when I got my breath back, I started to run again. I don't know how, but eventually I reached the open air.  
  
The clouds were starting to move in, and there was a chill to the air. None of that mattered to me as I leapt onto Shadow's sleek, black back. I knew that he wasn't my horse, but he was faster than Breeze, and I wanted to get out of there as quickly as I could. I kicked him in the sides, and he took off. I buried my head in his mane, for I hated going fast on a horse.  
  
He slowed down suddenly, and my head was thrown into his neck. I clung onto him, and peered up just enough to see. My heart was racing, and I didn't know where we were. There was nothing there, except unfamiliar woods. I thought I had been all over these woods, but that day I found out that I hadn't. I didn't know where I was. There was a slight rustling in the brush to my right, and Shadow reared and bolted. I hung on for dear life. By some miracle, I actually managed to stay on him, which is something I hadn't been able to do before that day.  
  
I was aware of pursuit. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and my heart raced faster than before. I shouted at Shadow to go faster. I didn't want to be caught! Especially if what was behind us was what had been chasing Kitty. Kitty! What had happened to her? She hadn't come back with me! She hadn't found the way out!  
  
I tugged on his mane, and kneed him sharply in his side, to turn him around. He wouldn't do it. He kept on running. He also didn't seem to like whatever was behind us. I felt the first tear come down my face. I always cried when I got too scared. And today hadn't been a great day, either. I hated crying, and I hated being such a scaredy-cat.  
  
Shadow's whinny knocked me out of my thoughts. He had pulled up short, and in font of us, I saw the blue creature. I screamed, and Shadow turned and ran. I sat up a little, to see if it was following. It was. I turned around and noticed the low branch hanging from the tree too late. I ducked, but not in time. My head got bashed into the hard wood surface, and Shadow rushed out from under me as the ground flew up under me.  
  
I sat up quickly, and tried to clear my head. As I did that, I felt the ground coming up to meet me again. When my eyes opened, I saw the blue creature standing above me. I think I screamed, and I got up and started running. I heard crashing behind me, and knew that the creature was chasing me again. I never stopped to think about why it hadn't hurt me while I was lying on the ground.  
  
I finally ran out of stamina, which was rare for me. That was one thing I was good for: running. I was leaning against a tree, when I felt strong arms grip me from behind. I started yelling and kicking, when I heard a soft, male voice.  
  
"Loren, chill out. It's Marco." I stilled for a moment, which was enough time for him to turn me around to face him. It really was him. I hadn't seen him in a long time.  
  
"Uncle Marco? What are you doing here?" I asked him quietly. "And what is that creature?" As if on cue, it came crashing through the brush, and I struggled to get away again. Uncle Marco gripped me harder. I squealed in pain, and he relinquished his grip a bit.  
  
"Loren, he's an old friend. Do you mean to tell me that you don't know what he is? Cass- Kitty's mom hasn't told you anything?" Now I was terrified and confused. I had no idea what he was talking about, and that made itself apparent on my face. "Loren, there's a lot you don't know," he said softly. "But I think that's going to change. This 'creature' is a friend of ours. We call him Ax."  
  
It seemed like a fitting name for a creature like that. Of course, I had no idea of what I was getting into when Marco asked me the next question.  
  
"Where's Kitty?" All of a sudden, things came to me. Kitty was back in the cave still! She was trapped in there with the other creature!  
  
"She's- she's back there," I managed to spit out.  
  
"Back where?" I pointed to the direction I thought was the cave.  
  
"There's a cave, by a stream. We rode there, and she went in. I told her not to, but she did! And there was another one of those blue things, and it was chasing her, and we got separated. I don't know where she is now." Ax and Uncle Marco looked at each other for almost a minute, with occasional nods from Uncle Marco. Then Ax ran off, and returned lugging an awkward piece of wood in his small upper arms. Uncle then put it on his back, and leapt onto Ax like he was a common horse. Then Uncle reached down a hand to me.  
  
"Come on, Loren. It's safe, I promise." By now I was so numb with fear that I couldn't think straight. I took his hand, and hopped in front of him.  
  
Ax was faster than he looked. We sped along through the woods at an amazing speed. I had my eyes open the whole time, and I wasn't actually that scared. We finally got to the cave, and I pointed inside it, and they went first, after taking the contraption off of Ax's back.  
  
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Please review the story. And don't be afraid to point out any mistakes. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. I wish I did, but I don't. ^-^ Anyways this story and any characters that are made up are mine and Cassie's. So don't use them without asking.  
  
Just so people now this isn't just my story. My friend Cassie and I came up with this together. We're co-authors. I come up the ideas and she types them up. And the chapters will switch between Kitty's POV and Loren's POV. Enjoy!! ^_^  
  
This is for Oedipal Kat I've never ridden a horse and I don't think my friend has either that's why it's so wrong. So I'll tell her what you said and we'll change it. This is for Dark Ice Dragon I don't think that Andalites have golden tail blades I think they're silver or gray. *sigh* Yet another thing that needs to be changed. Now for hybridphoenix my friend came up with that title. To tell you the truth I'm not sure where it came from myself. And for Crono101 who said there was nothing original in this chapter I put up the next chapter for your viewing enjoyment. I now the last one was kind of boring but this one should have a lot more to it. And last but not least Stargirl-rebels and ss4rycol thanks for the good reviews. Wow that was a lot of writing. Oh and by the way if anyone wants chapters posted faster then leave more reviews. ^_^ I like reviews.  
  
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Kitty's POV  
  
The blade was at my throat, and I was paralyzed with fear. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't think of anything to say to a strange blue-green creature. His tail tip quivered at my throat, and I assumed that it wanted me to put down the blue box. I couldn't very well bend over with a razor- sharp blade at my throat, and I just held out my hands.  
  
Its eyes widened a bit, and it's small upper arms grasped at the box desperately. On an instinct, I pulled the box away quickly, and dodged the sweep of the tail. I wasn't quick enough, however; it grazed my shoulder, and I felt a slight feeling of pain.  
  
a voice gasped. Where was it coming from? It was inside my head! I panicked.  
  
"What are you?" I screamed again as the tail blade came whooshing over my head.  
  
the voice was now more substantial, and it sounded angry. I still couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It repeated its request. I didn't want to give up the box for some reason. I felt as if it was right for me to have it.  
  
"Not until you tell me who or what you are," I said more bravely than I felt. I grasped the cold blue box closer to my body, and backed away slowly. We had circled each other so that the creature was backing into the wall instead of me. I thought about running, but I knew that this thing was faster than I was, and there was no way I could run on legs vulcanized with fear.  
  
Then I noticed the tree standing next to me. It had a low branch hanging a little out of arm's reach. All of a sudden, I jumped and grabbed the trunk of the tree with one hand, and shimmied up far enough so that I was standing on the branch, and the creature couldn't get me. Its stalks swiveled upward towards me, and I could see the eyes on the end of them. They were not a pretty sight. Then the whole head looked up to me, and I could see its almond eyes widen a bit in what I took to be surprise.  
  
the voice said almost desperately.  
  
"What's it to you?" I asked sarcastically. Then it clicked; the creature was talking inside my head! It was some sort of telepath. That figured, seeing as it didn't have a mouth.  
  
It looked at me, and its slits flared and closed, flared and closed. We stayed that way, just looking at each other for a few moments. Then I heard some shouting from outside the little chamber. The creature looked almost scared, like a horse ready to bolt.  
  
"Kitty? Kitty, where are you?" It was Marco! What was he doing here?  
  
"I'm over here," I shouted back. The creature looked at me with a loathing so strong I could feel it. The creature ran behind a large tree and waited, tail blade poised above its head, ready to strike.  
  
the thing sneered in my head.  
  
"Whatever," I muttered under my breath. Just then, Marco, Loren, and another creature barged into the cavern. I heard myself shriek as the two things started fighting each other. Marco held his arms up to me, and I jumped down to him. I hit the ground as he caught me around the waist. I looked up at him with gratitude, and he smiled at me.  
  
"Now, let's get out of here," he whispered in my ear. I nodded vigorously, and we ran for the entrance, which was still in the pitch black.  
  
Marco shone a light in front of us, and suddenly we could see. I then noticed that he had been carrying a small flashlight with him. The facts didn't sink in much then. I was too terrified, and my adrenaline was running too high to think logically.  
  
As we were running, I could hear the clashing of what sounded like metal. Then there was an utter stillness, and we stopped running. The silence was so real it could be felt. It was inside our heads as well. It was the sort of silence that weighs heavily upon you when you're talking to someone and they want you to make a life-or-death decision right away. It was the stillness right before the hurricane hits. Then everything was right again, and we resumed running.  
  
There were hoof beats behind us. We were being pursued. Marco grabbed my hand, and jerked me along faster. Finally, we broke out into the open woods. It was a lot darker than it had been when I had gone in, and I could smell the impending storm forming.  
  
"Come on, let's get out of here," I heard Marco say. I didn't respond. I wanted to know what was going on! Who, or what, were those creatures? Why were they fighting, and why were they even here? I wanted answers!  
  
"What's going on?" I asked to Marco, and then Loren drew a sharp breath, so that we turned our eyes to her. She was staring at the entrance to the cave. She screamed and started to run blindly. I never saw what was there, but I followed her. I could hear Marco crashing behind us.  
  
"The horses, Loren! The horses! Where are they?" I shouted after her. She shook her head and kept running. I wanted to yell at her or something, but I was out of breath, and I had to focus on running.  
  
"Kitty, Loren," Marco's strangled cry came from behind. I slowed a little, and Loren turned around. Her face was white as a ghost. "Wait, there's nothing to run from," he said as he finally caught up to me. Loren was moving slowly back to us, her legs quivering.  
  
"What are those things?" I finally managed to say.  
  
"Can I explain later?" He didn't wait for a response. "Good, now, let's find Ax."  
  
"Who's Ax?" What was going on? This was so strange!  
  
"He's a friend," Marco managed as he took off in the opposite direction. He was heading to the cave again! I looked at Loren, and she shrugged. We didn't have much choice but to follow him back. I could hear Loren quietly whimpering beside me. This time, however, she kept close to me. Almost too close for my liking, but I knew how scared she was.  
  
"Come on, Loren, it'll be all right now," I whispered quietly in her ear. She gave me a look that was something like what-do-you-take-me-for. I shrugged, and kept trotting after Marco. He stopped abruptly, and I almost ran into him. Loren did. She poked at me angrily for running her into Marco. "Sorry," I whispered.  
  
Marco never even noticed. He was staring intently ahead. His black hair hung limply down to his shoulders. He was standing perfectly still, almost as if he were poised for a kill. We were utterly silent as he stood there waiting, watching. I had no idea what he was seeing; I couldn't see around him, because we were enclosed in some underbrush now. He slowly turned to us, and smiled.  
  
"It's all right now, girls. Come look." We looked at him in amazement. What did he mean? Neither one of us had ever heard him use that tone before. There was a certain look in his brown eyes that I had never seen on anyone. It perplexed me.  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked him. He waved me silent, and pointed to the mouth of the cave. What we saw there was not what we had expected.  
  
I suppose that I had expected to find one or the other of the creatures dead on the ground in a pool of blood. Or maybe they were still fighting. But what I saw was the two creatures, one smaller than the other, staring at each other, and occasionally lifting a cloven hoof for emphasis.  
  
"What are they doing?" Loren whispered in my ear. I shrugged, and was about to ask Marco when the two beings turned to us, and spoke.  
  
I couldn't tell which one of them had spoken. The larger one stepped forward, and looked straight into my eyes. His eyes were brown, with depths so deep that you could get lost in them. His small forearms were weak in build, but his supple body made up for that. His eyes, though, held all the answers to all the mysteries that I had ever thought of. There was something strange happening. I could see things that I had never seen before, almost like a memory. Then, I could hear things that I never wanted to hear again; screams of people tortured without relief, those dying on a war field, on a planet that never existed in my world before. I could see Elfangor, his brother, waiting for something upon a hilltop. I suddenly knew who this creature was, and why he was here.  
  
"What just happened?" I asked him quietly.  
  
I gestured to my head, and he stood there dumbly.  
  
another voice chimed in. What they said next was in an undertone so low that I couldn't hear it.  
  
"Kitty, what is it?" Loren's voice pushed through the mist between where I was and the real world. I shook my head and looked at her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said, what's wrong?"  
  
"Oh, nothing's wrong. Absolutely nothing." She frowned at me. "Really. Nothing's wrong."  
  
"I don't believe you. You zoned out for a good five minutes," she said hotly.  
  
"Don't get so worked up about it, Loren. It's not a big deal." She mumbled something incoherently that I didn't hear, and probably didn't want to.  
  
the larger one said, but his tone was different. It was like he had suddenly turned into a prince. But, I obeyed anyway, and Loren grabbed my arm.  
  
"What are you doing?" she whispered heatedly.  
  
"I'm going to him. He asked me to," I said somewhat dazedly.  
  
"Whatever." She followed me, though, and we went to where the larger creature was waiting for us. He was a little to the right of the cave, and as we followed, he backed into the cave, and I followed him, with Loren clinging blindly to my free arm.  
  
I found that it wasn't as dark in the cave as it had been before. I didn't know how that was possible, but I was somewhat dazed, and I just let my feet take me where the creature was going. The walls gave off a white luminescence, and the floor seemed to sparkle under my feet. I had lost track of the creature by now, but I could hear his constant presence in my head, as strange as that may sound. I followed the sound his hoofs made upon the ground, and I went toward the growing presence.  
  
All of a sudden, I was enveloped in a bright white light. I couldn't see anything, but I knew where I was. I knew that there were trees all around me in a circle, and that the ceiling to this place was higher than I ever could reach without flying. My eyes stayed closed as I walked toward the creature.  
  
was what he said to me once. I lost all track of time in that bright place; I could feel his presence calling me.  
  
I had read books that talked about telepaths, and what they could do; they could read thoughts, feel one another's presence, and sometimes even move things with their minds. I didn't know then what I was getting into, or I would have backed down.  
  
But right then I was too into the euphoria of that place to care. I shook Loren off of my arm, and went forward. The creature had stopped; I could feel it. I stopped about ten paces away from him, and dropped to my knees. I could hear a strange birdcall in the cavern. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see it, a strange-looking thing, pink and green, flitting from tree to tree. Then the creature's presence called my attention again.  
  
His hand reached down to my blonde hair, which was then in a fairly long ponytail. As soon as his hand made contact, I was plunged into another place; I could see things, and hear things that I never experienced before. I knelt there, mesmerized, with his hand upon my head.  
  
First, the creature's face appeared in my head.  
  
He then gasped for air, and the connection between us was broken. He collapsed onto his forelegs, and grasped my shoulders with his hands, now somewhat weaker. I am going to die, human. Perhaps not now, but soon. I will tell you all I know about the Yeerks. Humans helped us once, but Andalite control doesn't trust them anymore. I know you merit my trust, human. Will you help us? With that, I was plunged into myriad visions and sounds.  
  
First, it was like I was swimming in white mist. Then it cleared, and I was on board some type of ship. Andalites were everywhere, running around on the ship, clamoring in their silent language. I sensed a great urgency. Then all of a sudden, I could hear their conversations.  
  
I couldn't pinpoint the voice, but I saw one of the Andalites, whom I assumed to be the warrior, scrambling to the control panel. He was halfway there when the whole ship shook. Andalites were sprawled all over the bridge, and just managing to get their hooves under them when it happened again. I could hear anguished cries, but they were distant, as if they were far away. One of the Andalites got up quicker than the rest, and bellowed for order.  
  
I assumed that he was the captain. The one whom I had identified as the warrior got up shakily and went to the control panel.  
  
the captain shouted.  
  
the cadet said meekly.  
  
Falan's voice was the absolute calm of someone who has been in the military service for a long time, and has seen many battles.  
  
was all the captain said. Then he turned away from his two underlings to face the open space. I followed his gaze, and saw three small ships circling around a black space in the stars.  
  
came Falan's alarmed voice.  
  
he said solemnly. The captain didn't have time to respond before the big blank space before them turned into matter. It was the biggest thing that I had ever seen. All of a sudden, a blast of red light shot from it as I was propelled away. I saw the ship with a broken dome explode into a million pieces.  
  
For a moment, I was back in the cave, staring in astonishment at the Andalite standing in front of me. He nodded slightly at me, and I knew then that what I had seen was true. I wanted to cry. Then, white mist enveloped me again.  
  
I was floating above a big body of water. I recognized it as the beach near where I lived. Except, it was clean, and the water was blue. I saw a pod of dolphins swimming in the water. They acted for the most part like normal dolphins, but I got the feeling that they weren't. I didn't know what they could be, but I knew that it wasn't quite right.  
  
They jumped and frolicked in the clear blue water, like dolphins should. Then I saw a boat, with a red-tailed hawk flying above it. Then I heard it.  
  
it repeated over and over again, each time getting weaker and weaker. The dolphins were headed right toward it. Then the host of dolphins dove beneath the surface and didn't come up for a long time.  
  
How long I was actually there, I don't know, but where I was, about ten minutes later, people from another ship dove into the water with scuba gear on. They went the direction that the pod of dolphins had. All of a sudden, I had a sickening feeling in my stomach. I didn't know what was wrong, only that something had gone wrong. About half an hour later, the pod of dolphins surfaced, but there was another sea creature with them. It was sleeker and lighter in color than the dolphins. There was a shark with them!  
  
I was back in the cave. I hadn't fully comprehended what I had seen. The Andalite in front of me gasped for air, and its legs folded under it. I reached out to try to help it.  
  
he gasped desperately. I still have more to show you, child.  
  
Then I was back. The group was on the beach. I came closer, still floating in the air. The hawk landed on a low tree branch, and the dolphins and the shark beached themselves. Then they began to change.  
  
One of the dolphins was changing more rapidly than the others. A sleek, black body was emerging from it. This one wasn't nearly grotesque as the others. This girl turned human with fins, stood up, and became human. The one to her right, a blonde-haired boy, was still laying on the ground, sloshing around, his face human with a bulge here and there. Next to him, there was a black-haired boy, almost done with his changes. He still had the tail, but was otherwise human. All told, there were four humans, and an Andalite. Then the Andalite spoke.  
  
I couldn't hear what he had said before, or what he said after. Then, he touched each of the four humans, some of which I thought I recognized, and he began to change. Then I was somewhere else.  
  
This time, there was no transition period. I was in an old, abandoned construction site. This time, I was walking. A small ship landed, and a ramp came down. The same set of four kids was there, but there was another one with them, smaller and sandy-haired. They ran, and hid near to where I was. From where we were, I could study them, and see what was going on.  
  
I realized, as I stared at them, who they were. One of the girls was blonde, tall, and wearing clothes that looked like they came straight from Paris. I didn't know her, but the other one was dark-skinned and short, wearing dirty old jeans. Her name was Cassie. She was my mother! The guys next to them I didn't recognize as quickly. One of them had a shock of black hair, and stood hunched over a little, whispering to the taller blond guy. All of a sudden, they ran out to the ship, where a wounded Andalite was coming down the ramp. I watched that scene for a good five minutes, and then the boy with the blond hair went up the ramp and reappear with a blue cube. Just like the blue cube I had found. The Andalite took the small blue cube from the boy, and then he and the humans put their hands on it, and a faint light pulsed from within it.  
  
Then the earth shook. Another ship had landed near to where they were. At a word from the injured Andalite, Cassie, Marco, and the others ran back to where they had hid before. Another Andalite emerged from the new ship, and changed into a huge, grotesque monster.  
  
The creature reared up to its full height of about 40 feet, and the injured Andalite looked up at it without fear. The monster dwarfed the small, blue- green Andalite. And even as the ugly red and brown creature engulfed the little Andalite within its jaws, he showed no fear.  
  
The construction site went dark again. It was a deathly quiet as the enormity of what had just happened hit the five humans. The creature began to change back into an Andalite, boarded his ship, and the ship took off. The small, sandy-haired boy cried unheedingly, while the blond guy and Marco tried very hard not to. Cassie clung to the taller blonde guy, while the taller girl stood apart from the, fists clenched at her sides.  
  
I found myself slowly flowing away from the abandoned construction site, melting back into the dimly lit cave. I couldn't stand any longer, and my knees folded under me, and my rump hit the dirt floor.  
  
That brought me fully back to reality. The Andalite kneeling in front of me sagged forward. I reached my hands out to support him.  
  
he commanded quietly. He needed to recover, and there was nothing I could do for him. I was kind of worried about myself as well; I was very tired.  
  
I did as he asked. I had a little trouble walking, but the cave walls gave me support. I finally made it out into the little clearing in front of the cave, where Loren, Marco, and the other Andalite were waiting. I staggered out into the clearing, and leaned against a tree. I closed my eyes, and tried not to cry. What I had seen would be with me the rest of my life, I knew. But it was also important. I had seen more death that day than I had in my whole life, and I knew I would see more.  
  
"Kitty? What happened in there?" Loren asked, coming over to me. I shook my head. "You were in there an awfully long time, you know," Loren said. Marco looked a little concerned, and then the Andalite bounded off.  
  
"Ax!" Marco called after him. All of a sudden, Loren went crashing after Ax.  
  
"Okay, what's going on?" Marco asked accusingly. I shrugged and shook my head. His presence reminded me of what I had seen at the construction site. A tear rolled down my cheek.  
  
"If I knew, I'd tell you," I said, trying not to sound as upset as I was. He sighed.  
  
"What happened in there, then?" he asked. I looked at him, and saw him standing inside of an unfinished building that was just cement walls, watching an Andalite eat one of its own kind. "Can you tell me?" he asked softly. I nodded.  
  
"I saw things," I whispered.  
  
"What kind of things," he asked, like a father would ask a child who's just had a bad dream. I told him. I told about the dolphins, and about the construction site. Not about the Andalite ship. For some reason, I didn't want to tell him about that one.  
  
"That's not possible," he said to himself. Just then, Ax. Loren, and my mom came crashing into the small clearing.  
  
"All right, what's going on?" my mom growled.  
  
"Umm, Cassie, she knows," Marco said. She stared at Marco for long moments. Then she stomped her foot on the ground.  
  
"That's not possible," she said flatly.  
  
I stood there staring at both Marco and my mom. I then had a sinking feeling in my stomach that I was in way over my head. The scenes that I had seen kept going through my head. I wondered what all this meant.  
  
"Kitty? Are you all right?" Loren asked me.  
  
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," I answered slowly.  
  
"Sure you are," she said sarcastically. She shook her head and turned back to Marco and my mom.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Please review the story. And don't be afraid to point out any mistakes. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. I wish I did, but I don't. - Anyways this story and any characters that are made up are mine and Cassie's. So don't use them without asking.

Just so people now this isn't just my story. My friend Cassie and I came up with this together. We're co-authors. I come up the ideas and she types them up. And the chapters will switch between Kitty's POV and Loren's POV. Enjoy!!

**Loren's POV **

I don't know what had been going on while Kitty was in the cave. She came out acting very strange, though. I'd never seen her so out of it. She kept staring out into space and murmuring to herself. She looked like she was going to cry. But every time I asked her if something was wrong, she'd always shake her head, and say, "I'm fine."

I had followed Ax back to Kitty's house to get her mom. Ax had told me some things about Andalites. I wouldn't have believed a word of it, except for the fact that there was a big blue alien standing in front of me at the time. He had said something about his prince. I didn't remember what he had said, though, and I didn't ask.

I was standing there in the little clearing, listening to the distant rippling of the small stream. The trees were making the night fall faster, and I wanted to get out of there. I hated the dark. Just then, I saw a small glowing from the mouth of the cavern, and the other Andalite limped out, carrying the blue box that had gotten us into all this.

I brushed a small wisp of my hair from my face, and went over to Kitty.

"All right, what's going on?" I asked her.

"I really don't know, Loren. I wish I did," she replied softly. That was really the only time I had ever seen her quiet and confused. She was always upbeat and she was a natural leader.

Humans, come, the weak voice of the Andalite came to our ears. Kitty's mom and Uncle Marco were the first to go over to him. Kitty followed, and I was right behind her. Ax moved swiftly to his side. He held out the blue cube, and Uncle Marco and Kitty's mom put their hands on it. At a nod from the kneeling alien, Kitty followed suit, and I didn't have much choice; everyone was waiting for me.

Concentrate on the cube, humans, was all he said. Kitty closed her eyes, then the two adults, and then I did.

The soft blue light filled my whole being. I felt a tingling all over. It almost felt like some sort of energy was going through my whole body. Kitty gasped suddenly, and then it was gone. We all opened our eyes, to find that nothing had changed.

"What just happened?" I demanded.

You have been given our most sacred technology, came the calm reply. You, and you, he gestured towards Kitty's mom and Uncle Marco, already had this technology. You two, though, did not, he said. They will explain it to you.

Brother? Ax's speech filled my head with anxiety and fear; he was afraid. He controlled his speech better after, and I couldn't hear his following words.

The smaller Andalite fell to the ground. Ax knelt by him, and put his tail-blade on the other one's body. He stirred a bit, and opened his eyes.

It is my time, _nothlit_, I must go. With that, his eyes closed, and he went limp.

No, not yet... I couldn't hear beyond those words. Ax's grief was very great. We could almost feel it. If Andalites could cry, I think he would have.

Please review the story. And don't be afraid to point out any mistakes.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. I wish I did, but I don't. - Anyways this story and any characters that are made up are mine and Cassie's. So don't use them without asking.

Just so people now this isn't just my story. My friend Cassie and I came up with this together. We're co-authors. I come up the ideas and she types them up. And the chapters will switch between Kitty's POV and Loren's POV. Enjoy!!

**Kitty's POV**

With Ax bent over the nameless Andalite, I wondered what had happened. I wondered what my mom had to do with this, and Marco. So many questions, but I knew there weren't any answers. At least none that I was looking for. The nameless Andalite had called Ax a _nothlit_. What was that?

"Mom, what's a _nothlit_," I asked curiously. She looked at me strangely.

"Where did you hear that?" she asked me directly, almost accusingly.

"The other Andalite said it to Ax. What's it mean?" I wanted to know!

"It means someone who is stuck in another form. That they're trapped in morph," Marco answered. My mom glared at him.

"Look, Cassie, she knows already, and he gave them the power to. What do you want to do about it, just let it be there while the Yeerks try to build another empire?"

"They promised-"

"Some of them did. Remember Tom? Remember how he was renegade? There had to have been more that were renegades. And I bet they're back here, knowing that Andalite control won't expect them to try this lowly planet again."

Marco is right, Cassie. Andalite control won't expect the Yeerks to try another invasion on the same planet. But I'm not sure what Sirian meant when he said another invasion. Ax gestured to his fallen comrade.

"Who are you?" Marco asked suddenly.

What do you mean? 

"Ax was taken by that thing in _kelbird_ space. And, Sirian here called you a _nothlit_." Ax looked stunned. "Who are you?" Marco persisted. The Andalite looked at his fallen brother, turned tail, and left.

"That was helpful, Marco," my mom said dryly.

"You two seem to have a better idea of what's going on than I do, so would someone like to fill me in on this?" I said. The two exchanged looks, and Loren clung tighter to me.

"I don't like this," she whispered in my ear. I shook my head in response. Finally, Marco sighed.

"So, looks like I have to tell them, huh?" he said. My mom shook her head.

"No, we both do. It seems that we're not done with this." She looked sad. I wanted to know!

"What's going on?" I asked quietly. Marco looked at me, and tried to smile. It failed utterly.

"Now, let's see," he started. "The trees are swaying in the breeze, we just had someone turn into Ax and run away, and you're all standing there gaping."

"Very funny, Marco," my mom said with a smile.

"I try," he said smugly. My mom sighed and shook her head.

"All right," she said with a sigh. "Let's head towards home, it's a long story." With that, we turned and walked to my house.

Later, while everyone was drinking some soda. Marco and my mom started to explain. My mom started.

"Well, it was a long time ago," she started.

"A _very_ long time ago," Marco corrected. She smiled softly and continued.

"A _very_ long time ago, a group of teenage kids walked through an abandoned construction site on their way home. A lot of things happened that night, and it changed our lives." She paused for a minute, took a deep breath, and continued. "Now I have to warn you, it sounds impossible, but I think with what you've seen today, you'll believe me. What happened that night goes something like this..."

What she said was about what I had seen in the cavern. She told us about Elfangor and the morphing power. She told us about the Yeerks. She told us about the many battles she had been in, all the while opposed to it, but doing it because it was right. She always was one to be more sentimental, and do things only because they were the right things to do. She loved being an animal, though. She talked about that some. The ability to change into an animal. That was the gift that we had been given. Or curse, as she said.

Then she started talking about Rachel. That was not a good thing. She started to cry, and she paused long enough to compose herself, with a little support from Marco. I assumed that Rachel was the tall blonde girl that I saw in the construction site. She talked about Rachel's love for the battle. She dwelled on the battles, and described them in great detail. Most of them were not too pleasant. She also talked about Jake a lot. She kept saying how good a leader he had been, but there was also a tinge of resentment in her tone. I couldn't figure that one out. I made a mental note to ask Marco about it. But I didn't know which one of the boys had been Jake. I would definitely have to ask Marco that one.

Then Marco stepped in. He talked about space. What he said made my head spin worse than anything else that they had said that evening. He talked about _Kelbird_ space, and how Ax was captured there. He said that we had to know about it. They had flown into _Kelbird _space to find Ax. Jake had ordered them to ram the blade ship. The blade ship was a huge Yeerk vessel that was really bad. It had a lot of weapons, and a very strong shield.

Then I saw it. I was there. I watched the smaller ship ram into the bigger Yeerk starship. Just before the smaller ship hit the blade ship I saw two small ship coming out of the smaller ship. They looked like they when some sort of shuttles. I watched as the other two ships get blown to smithereens. I looked hard for the shuttles, but all I could see was the huge explosion that the impact had caused. Neither of the two ships had survived. Then I saw a huge entity. It moved closer to the shuttles and enveloped them. It had one face, but it was many faces. I saw Marco's face on it, I saw Tobias' human face, and I saw Ax, even. I also saw the faces of the tall boy with blonde hair and three others that I didn't even know. It was everything. Then another entity filled all the space around me. I could hear words, but I couldn't understand them. It seemed to be a battle of wits.

I heard a few phrases shouted so loud that I felt it within me. They reverberated through my very being. I saw the being with many faces draw back. And I saw people come out of it. Just Jake, Marco, Tobias, and the other three people. They were alive in space. They were breathing in a vacuum! They looked all around them. I heard the Ellimist talking to them.

_"I have saved you from a fate not meant to be."_

"Why?" the tall blonde boy yelled. I assumed he was Jake.

_"Your jobs are not done."_

"But you're not supposed to interfere with other being's affairs!" Marco shouted.

_"The One interfered first. That changes the rules! Now I will put you back." _All of a sudden, everything was gone except the shuttles.

"Tobias, , and I were on one of the shuttles. Jake, , and were on the other shuttle. After months of traveling through space we lost the other shuttle. It just disappeared one day. After many more months of traveling we had finally made it back to Andilite space. They gave us a ride back to Earth. When we had gotten back to Earth everyone had forgotten about us," Marco said, finishing up. "We had been gone for years. My fortune had been given to charities. We all found places to live. But the Ellimist saved us. I don't know why. I don't suppose that I ever will, really."

They talked about a lot that night. I never really did put it together how Marco came to living in the woods. He could have gotten his fortune back. And not all of it was gone. I knew that he was lying a little. But I didn't care. I was so confused that my head was spinning. My mom stood up. I looked at her, and at once knew how hard it had been on her to tell all that, to remember all of it.

"It's getting late, kids," she said. "Loren, why don't you stay here tonight? I don't want you walking home alone this late." Loren nodded numbly. She had taken in a lot that night. I didn't know if she believed it or not. I didn't want to believe it, but deep down, I knew it was real.

"Let me call my mom," she said quietly. I got up, and helped her to her feet. She called her mom, told her where she was, and then the two of us went upstairs to go to bed.

We could hear Marco and my mom talking in low undertones. We sat on the steps and listened for a while.

"...I told you, Cassie, we can't do that! We're going to have to-"

"No, Marco. I won't do it," she said quietly but firmly. "We did what we had to do, now let them do it on their own. We can't help anymore. We've done our work." Marco snorted.

"Yeah, great job we did. They're back. And we don't know what they want this time."

"The same thing they wanted last time, probably," my mom said in resignation.

"I'm going to help them," Marco said firmly.

"No, you won't. They don't even believe it," came the reply. Marco sighed, and stood up.

"I'm tired, I'm going to go to sleep. Good night," he said.

"You can sleep down here if you want. But the girls will be up early; they have school tomorrow."

"Oh, great," he said. My mom stood up, and left Marco to his own thoughts, and started towards the steps. Loren and I scrambled quickly and quietly to my room.

My room wasn't the neatest room on the earth. In fact, it was one of the messiest. There were clothes strewn all over the wood floor, and you didn't even want to look in the closet. There would be an avalanche if you opened it. My desk was covered in old homework papers that I had never done, and the chair was draped with tomorrow's outfit, which included jeans and a tee-shirt. My bed wasn't made, and my pillow was on the other side of my room, near the window.

From the window, one could see straight past the woods to the mountains. They were pretty, big, and the tops were dusted with snow. The sun had set, so I couldn't see them just then, but I knew they were there.

Because my mom had come up the stairs, I hadn't turned on the light. Loren knew better than to try to move in my room without a light on. I should have known better, but I didn't. I banged into my chair after tripping over the shirt I had worn the day before. "Ouch," was only one of the words I used. Loren stifled a laugh, and I couldn't help but smile.

I kicked a few of the various things on the floor aside, giving Loren enough room to walk to my messy bed. Under my bed there was a sleeping bag, just for Loren. She was over at my house enough, we had decided to keep one with me. I unrolled it, and spread it out on the floor.

"There may be a few bumps on the floor," I said quietly, with a smile. "But it should be all set for you." She crawled down from the bed, and sat on the sleeping bag. I crawled up to my bed after retrieving my pillow.

I snuggled into my warm blankets with a smile. I hugged my stuffed raccoon tightly, and squeezed my eyes closed. I was just slipping into an unsettled dream, when Loren whispered something.

"Huh," I said sleepily.

"I said, what do you think about what happened today?"

"I think that it was all a dream, to forget about it, and let me sleep so I can be awake for the biology test I have tomorrow."

"Okay," she said. I waited until her breathing slowed and steadied until I closed my eyes again.

My dreams were mostly of Andalites and what I had seen in the cavern. They were not very pleasant, though. I was in the middle of running from an alien that looked totally human when I woke up.

The sun was shining through my window, and Loren was still snoring softly. I shook my head, smiled, and looked out my window. The sun was shining brightly, which lit up the mountains in various colours: sunrise. I quickly got dressed, and I made my way to the barn, leaving Loren in my room.

As soon as I stepped onto the stair, the smell of fresh pancakes and bacon slithered up to my nose. I breathed deeply, and went into the kitchen. My mom was in the kitchen, humming softly to herself, and Marco was still asleep on the couch in the other room. I only knew because I could hear him snoring through the wall.

"Morning," I said to my mom cheerfully. She smiled at me, and gestured to the stove; a pancake was sitting there, perfectly done. I took the plate she handed to me, snatched the pancake off the pan, smothered it in maple syrup, and dug in, still standing. When I had finished, I chugged a glass of orange juice, and went to the barn to do my chores. Well, I meant to.

What actually happened was that I went into the living room, shut the door behind me, and woke Marco up. I knew that my mom wouldn't be able to hear us.

"Marco, wake up," I whispered. He muttered something, and turned over, facing the back of the brown couch. I shook him, and he swatted at my hand, but didn't wake up. Finally, he woke up.

"Good morning," I said.

"Go away," he growled.

"Are you always this much of a grump?"

"Yup, now go do your chores."

"Not until you talk to me."

"What?"

"I want some answers."

"About what?" he asked cautiously.

"About last night."

"What about it?"

"What happened to you? How did you come to live in the woods from being a millionaire? Why us? What's going on?"

"Well, a lot happened to me, and I don't live in the woods, and you discovered the Andalite, and you have to save the world. Now can I go back to bed?"

"No!" I grabbed his shoulder as he went to lay down. He turned to face me, and there was a big smile on his face.

"You're mean," I said playfully.

"Go do your chores."

"No, Loren will be up when I'm done, and I want to talk to you now."

"Fine, fine. What was it you wanted to know?" I repeated my question. "Oh, that. Well, I got sick of living like a rich person, and I wanted to see everyone again, and to see how they were doing. I had heard that your mother wasn't doing well, so I gave my money to a charity, found somewhere close by to live, and helped her out. She was at work most of the time, and she used that as an excuse to be away from home all the time. She was haunted by memories of what we did. We all were." His eyes glazed over, and he looked out the glass door, to the yard. He was remembering.

"Cassie was always so sensitive. It was wrong for her to be part of that. Jake was really too hard on her towards the end. They were in love, you know," he added. "Anyway, we fought the Yeerks, people and things died. And now they're back. And it's your turn. Cassie won't help you. She hated it the first time. We can't ask her to do it again." I nodded, shocked. He had told me more than what he had said in words. He had told me how horrible it was, how hard it was on them. He had told me the hurt that came with killing things, the pain of losing people they loved. I thanked him, and went to the barn.

When I got out there, I was bombarded with the smell of animals. I loved that smell. The hawk screeched at me suddenly, and I went to work. I had cages to clean, animals to feed, a wolf's leg to check on, and my horses to feed and brush, and not a lot of time to do it. It may not sound like fun, but believe me, it was. I loved working with animals. It always put me in a good mood. And I needed a boost right then. What Marco had told me disturbed me. I put my thoughts on my work, and forgot everything else.

I finished quickly, and bounded back into the house and up the stairs. Loren was at the kitchen table, looking very tired. I decided to have a little fun with her. I was a morning person, and she wasn't.

"Hey, Loren," I said cheerfully. If looks could kill, I would be dead. "Grab whatever you want to eat, I've already had my breakfast. I'm going to go upstairs and change. Then we can go to school."

"Whatever," she mumbled. I saw her wearily get up and trudge over to the fridge. She practically lived at my house, and knew where everything was. The pancakes and bacon had already been put away, and she started to warm them up as I went up the stairs to change into somewhat more decent clothing for school.

After Loren had eaten, we went to school. It wasn't a long walk, but it was hot out. By the time we got there, we were dripping with sweat. As we were wiping the sweat off our brows, and walking into the somewhat air-conditioned building, the bell rang for classes; we were late.

Please review the story. And don't be afraid to point out any mistakes.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. I wish I did, but I don't. - Anyways this story and any characters that are made up are mine and Cassie's. So don't use them without asking.

Just so people now this isn't just my story. My friend Cassie and I came up with this together. We're co-authors. I come up the ideas and she types them up. And the chapters will switch between Kitty's POV and Loren's POV. Enjoy!!

**Loren's POV **

I knew what that bell meant. It meant that I was dead meat. I had been late to too many classes already.

"Oh crap," I said to Kitty, and started to run. I barely made it to my homeroom before the teacher closed the door. I sighed. I was safe, for today.

"Hey, look who's late again," sneered a voice from the back of the room.

"Oh, shut up," I said to him. His name was Tommy, and he was mine and Kitty's best friend. We always fooled around, in and out of class. Mr. Broman gave us a dirty look, and I sat down in my seat, right next to him. He elbowed me, and gave me a note. It didn't say anything, really. Then the bell rang, and class began.

The next few days passed quickly, and uneventfully. Kitty and I spent most every moment of them together. We always did. We didn't talk about what had happened that one night. Then one day, our principal called an unplanned assembly.

"Man, I hate these things," I whispered to Kitty. We were coming from math, which was one of the few classes we had together.

"You got that right," she agreed. Assemblies were nothing fun. They consisted mainly of our principal droning on about someone breaking the dress code, or commending someone for doing a good job on something. The good thing was, was that you could sit with anyone you wanted to.

Tommy, Jason, Kitty and I always sat together, with a few other people. Throughout the whole thing, which was for some girl who had gotten a good score on a hard test or something, we were laughing and playing paper football. We got a few dirty looks from the new teachers who tried to be decent, but nobody liked assemblies, and the teachers didn't want to be there, either.

"Hey guys," Tommy said suddenly.

"Hmm?" Kitty said distractedly. She was trying to make a field goal.

"Can you hang out with us later this week? We'll party or something." I loved to party, and he knew it. But Kitty, on the other hand, did not. She frowned at the idea. "Oh, come on Kitty, don't be like that," he whined. She smiled. Nobody could resist Tommy when he whined. Or at any time, I might add. But if someone could, it would be Kitty.

"All right," she said finally. Then the assembly ended, and school was over. We all piled out of the auditorium, and pushed and shoved our ways to our lockers. We finally got there, and got our stuff. Then we left. We didn't fool around, though, like we usually did. Maybe the assembly took all the fun out of us.

Kitty and I went to her house after school. My family life wasn't great. My parents fought all the time, and my mom wanted total control over me. Occasionally I'd call her to tell her where I was, but usually I wouldn't. I didn't have any siblings, so that made it a little easier, I thought. Both me and Kitty were only children, except she was adopted. Her home was nice. Her mom was always so kind to me, and I basically lived with them. I would sometimes spend three or four days at a time there without warning. It came in handy that me and Kitty were the same size in clothing.

When we got to her house, she went right into the barn, to do her chores. I wanted something to drink, so I went inside. Her mom was there, bustling around the kitchen. She wasn't usually home much, so I asked her about it.

"Oh, I just figured that I'd take some time off from work. It's getting very hectic there," was all she said. That didn't make sense to me, but I didn't push it any further. She wasn't a house person. She usually was either out in the barn, or riding through the woods looking for injured animals. I shrugged it off, and got my drink of lemonade. I went into the living room to go to the barn, and I noticed that Uncle Marco wasn't there. He must have left sometime during the day. I wondered where he went. It wasn't real possible to live in the woods. There weren't a lot of animals to hunt, and hunting wasn't exactly legal that time of year. I shrugged, and went out to the barn.

Kitty was dealing with a female wolf when I got there. I didn't see her at first, so I walked around a little. My scent must have gotten to the wolf, because she howled so loud the walls shook. Kitty gave me a look that said I was dead after she was done.

"You know, I was trying to re-splint this leg. You could be quiet," she said testily.

"Sorry," I said. She smiled at me.

"It's all right. I didn't really want to do this anyway. Wolves are a pain. Mom usually does them, but she's letting me do it this time."

"Really? That's neat," I replied. She nodded and smiled. She went back to working on the wolf, while I stood there and stared. Kitty grunted and tugged quite a bit, but she eventually managed to do what she was out here to do. She stood up with a grin, and wiped the grime on her jeans.

"So, what do you think? Do you think I did it right?" she asked me, still grinning.

"Of course you did it right," I said, a little too nicely. You know, how a mother says something to their child about a piece of art that they bring home, and they don't even look up to answer you? That nicely. She punched my arm playfully, and laughed.

"You know what I mean," she said, without the grin. "Go look." The wolves were kept in a pen far away from the horses, and separated from the rest of the animals in the barn. I went over to her and looked at the leg. The wolf was walking around on it a bit, so it was hard for me to see it, but when I caught a glimpse of it, it looked perfect. I may not know a lot about medicine, or treating animals, but I'd lived around Kitty for long enough to know what a simple splint should look like.

"It looks good," I said sincerely. She grinned, and bobbed her head. Her ponytail moved with her. It always did. "Oh, Kitty?" I asked, a thought popping into my head.

"What, Loren?"

"I was thinking about that night. I-"

"What? Do you think it was true?" she asked me, all jubilation gone from her.

"I don't know. It was so strange," I said slowly.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," she said playfully.

"Oh no, you are not serious," I said flatly.

"I think I am," she said with that glint in her eye that told you she was up to no good. Almost as if she knew something that I didn't.

"Well, what do we do?" I asked.

"Didn't my mom say something about having to touch an animal, and concentrate very hard on it?" she said, concentrating very hard, thinking back to that evening.

"Yeah, I think so," I replied.

"Well, let's try it," she said, green eyes flashing.

"I don't think-"

"You never think it's a good idea," she said playfully. It was true. I was usually opposed to her audacity. As moral as she was, she still had a streak of the wild side in her, and she could be mighty impulsive if you let her. But before I could say anything else, she knelt down next to the wolf pen, and carefully reached her hand in. The wolf snapped at it, and she drew it back just before the jaws closed.

Then she stood up, and tried reaching over the barrier. That worked a bit better. I was standing next to her, watching her. Her eyes closed calmly, and a look of serenity crossed her face. Her hand was only barely touching the hide of the wolf. The wolf calmed a little, and its breathing steadied. All of a sudden she opened her eyes, and gestured for me to do the same.

I reached my hand in gingerly. The wolf didn't even move. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was still slow and even. I touched her short, wiry fur, closed my eyes, and concentrated. After a while, I gave up. Nothing had happened.

"There, we tried. Nothing happened," I said.

"I think you're right, for once," she replied. I reached out playfully and smacked her arm. Before we knew it, we were rolling around, wrestling in the barn. Not before her mom came out did we stop.

I spent the night there again, and the next few days at school went by just like the ones before, slow and boring. But they went by, and nothing happened. Nothing came of our little experiment in the barn.

Please review the story. And don't be afraid to point out any mistakes.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. I wish I did, but I don't. - Anyways this story and any characters that are made up are mine and Cassie's. So don't use them without asking.

Just so people now this isn't just my story. My friend Cassie and I came up with this together. We're co-authors. I come up the ideas and she types them up. And the chapters will switch between Kitty's POV and Loren's POV. Enjoy!

**Kitty's POV**

I never did want to go with Tommy. Jason begged out of it, saying that he didn't feel well. I knew that was total crap, though. Loren had wanted to go, though. She was a party person, even for how shy she acted. So that's how I ended up with Tommy and Loren by the library.

The library was a squat, square building in the middle of nowhere. We had to walk about twenty minutes from the school to the outskirts of the town to get there. It was just a plain, brick building that looked like someone slapped it down in the middle of a field, and said, "Here the library shall lie," or something like that. It looked very out of place in the middle of a field, with one straggling dirt road leading to it. We walked down the road, scuffing up dust trails in our wake. I scrutinized the building, with a nagging feeling in the back of my head.

"Is this where the party is?" Loren asked skeptically.

"No!" Tommy said emphatically. It's just a meeting spot," he added cheerfully. We stared all around. There was no one else in sight. It was a deserted field with a winding dirt road, and a brick building. We were almost there.

"Okay, what is this?" I asked him. He smiled his heart-melting smile, and shrugged.

"I don't know. We're a little late, so maybe they went on without us," he suggested. Loren nodded. She believed everything that boy said. I shook my head, and followed her.

We went inside the library. It was cooler in there, and we sat down in one of the corners and conversed for a while. We talked mainly about nothing. Just the usual chit-chat, and the occasional girl walking by, staring madly at Tommy. He would smile back, and wave, but we all knew it was an act. He hated the attention he got.

With his light brown hair, dark complexion, and a melting smile, he was the center of attention of all the snobby, rich girls. He was built very nicely, and could beat even me at arm wrestling. I could usually beat the guys, and he was one of the only exceptions. Today he was wearing a white tee-shirt with some sort of sports logo on it; he didn't play sports, he just wore the stuff.

A little while later, he stood up and stretched. His muscles rippled under his skin. A girl looking at books, stopped looking at books, and looked very interestedly at him.

"All right," he said to us. "Time to get going. The party's starting," he said with a wink at Loren. We all thought he had eyes for her, but she had no interest in anyone, or at least that's the appearance she kept. I couldn't care one way or another.

We all stood up, and he led us to a door that I never knew existed in the library. He put a finger to his lips for silence, looked around nervously, and opened the door slowly. I saw some sort of a number pad next to it. I hadn't seen him push any numbers on it, though.

The door lead to a dark stairway. From what I could see, the steps were narrow and steep. There were a lot of them. I wondered what was going on. He had said that it was a meeting place. There hadn't been anyone there. And how did he know that it was time for the party to start?

The walls became increasingly damp as we went down. We could hear a lot of noise coming from the bottom. It sounded like a party, but I couldn't be sure. Loren gave me a nervous look, and I shrugged. I didn't know where we going, but I trusted Tommy. It took me a lot to trust someone. I had known him longer than I had known Loren, but I was closer to Loren. It got darker, and darker. Soon I couldn't see much of anything, and I had to feel the steps with my feet before moving down. I could hear Tommy walking down with confidence. He had been here before.

As we went farther down, Loren clung closer to me. I was getting a really bad feeling in my stomach. I wasn't the nervous type, either.

"Do you have any idea where we are, or where we're going?" I asked Loren. She shook her head. I couldn't see her, but I heard the rustle of her hair in the silence. That silence was soon pierced by a scream. That scream had almost inhuman qualities to it. Whatever it was, it scared me. Without a word, Loren and I dashed back up the steps. Tommy's voice followed us up, which made us go even faster. It wasn't quite Tommy's voice. At least not to my ears. It sounded sinister, and the echoes in the stairwell gave it an even more menacing quality.

It was a long way up those stairs. We weren't even halfway there, by my reckoning, and we were both panting. That was saying something. We were both in great condition. Loren was a runner, and I played whatever sport I could jump into. But still, we raced up those steps.

Even though we were panting, and our lungs were screaming for air, we kept going. We didn't want to be around when whatever had made that scream decided to come back up these steps. We had a little trouble in the dark, but as we went further up, it got a little lighter, and we were able to move a little easier. I ignored the burning in my legs and lungs, and pushed onward. Finally, we reached the door. We stopped, composed ourselves a bit, and opened it. Red lights lit up the stairwell, and a high-pitched wailing noise filled the air around us.

"Get them!" we heard a male voice say. We looked at each other, and ran for it. There was only one problem: our legs didn't want to run. The best we could do was walk a little way. Then we had to stop.

My legs felt like rubber, and they were shaking. The whole library was whirring with that high-pitched noise. We were the only ones in the library. Everyone else had left. There was no way we could get out of there before whoever was down the stairs came up to get us. We looked at each other. My mind was racing; I had to figure something out. We had to get out of there!

"Okay, Loren? Whoever is down there, I don't like it. I don't want them to find us. Let's hide." She nodded agreement. She hadn't really heard me, but she would follow me.

"Wait, Kitty?" she said.

"What? We don't have time for this," I said, eyeing the door to the steps.

"What if all that stuff your mom said was true?" she said quickly. "What it the Yeerks are real? How are we going to get away?" She sounded very worried.

"Well, we'll have to find a way," I said with a smile. "Can you run yet?"

"I don't think so," she said warily. "All right, what are you thinking?" she said. She knew me too well. I had gotten an idea, and she knew what happened when I got ideas. I shook my head, and stood up. My legs were feeling better, and Loren didn't weigh much.

"Oh, no you don't!" she yelped as I picked her up, and bolted out the door. I smiled at her, and then focused on running.

I didn't get very far, but it was far enough away from the library that I could hide. I ducked down in the tall grass after dumping Loren off my back. I peered towards the building. I had run around to the back. There were a few trees, and dense bushes behind me. I peeked up above the grass. There wasn't anyone coming yet. Then I looked behind me. I could see the faces of people hiding in the shrubs behind us.

"So that's where everyone went," I muttered. They must have thought it was a fire or something. All of a sudden, about thirty people poured out the front and side doors to the library and burst out, guns in hand. They fanned out, looking for us. Some of them held small white objects with red buttons on them. I had no idea what they were, but I knew that they weren't meant for making peace. I crouched down next to Loren, and started moving backwards. I grabbed the back of her shirt, and dragged her with me.

"Uh oh," she said. Uh oh was right. There was a great rustling in the bushes as the whole contingent of people hiding in the bushes moved deeper back into the woods. I backed up quicker. I turned around, and started crawling as fast as I could. I could hear Loren behind me, scrambling in the dirt. But we weren't quick enough. They saw us.

"You there, get over here!" the same male voice screamed at us.

"Let's move!" I yelled at Loren. She nodded, and stood up after I did. Then we made a break for the woods. We ran into the thick of the bushes, and I leapt over a few. Loren was behind me, but I couldn't wait for her. Besides, I knew that she would be all right. I looked all around for a place to hide. Loren caught up to me finally, after she cleared the barrier of brush.

"Psst! Over here!" A small child held out a hand to us, and we crawled into a small bush that I hadn't noticed. It wasn't the nicest thing to hide in. It had thorns, and flowers that smelled really bad. But it was big enough to accommodate all three of us.

"Thank you," I whispered gratefully. She held a finger to her mouth for silence. Loren sagged against me from weariness. I wanted to lay down, but I knew that we weren't safe there. I sat up straight, and watched carefully for pursuit. Loren closed her eyes, and her face twisted in pain. She was hurt. So was I for that matter, but I chose not to show it. I had to think of a way out of this mess.

The yelling became louder as the hunters came closer to us. I tensed, and Loren raised her head. Before she could say anything, I shushed her, and shook my head as the pack came closer and closer still. I peered out through a hole in the bush, and saw them, dressed like any normal person would be. Of course they're normal people I scolded myself. They wouldn't be anything else.

They came close enough that we could hear their conversations. I knew that they had seen some of the other people, but they didn't go after anyone. They looked menacing with the guns in their hands, and I knew that they meant to kill.

"Where did they go?" a voice said.

"I don't know. They must be in here somewhere," a female voice said.

"They're here all right. But I'll get them later," a familiar voice said.

"Oh, who cares? They're not here, and they didn't find us out. They didn't get far enough down the stairs to see anything. Besides, they're scared now, so they probably won't come back," another voice said.

"I already said, I'd get them soon. Just give them a little time. They'll walk into my hands," a male voice said. It sounded so familiar!

"All right, move out!" the first voice said. With that, the whole thirty of them left the trees and turned back towards the library. We all stayed where we were for a while, to make sure that they weren't coming back. After about two minutes, we all came out from hiding. The head librarian came over to me.

"Why were they looking for you?" she asked me suspiciously, eyeing me with her slate grey eyes. Her authoritative voice made up for her small frame. She was a little intimidating.

"They weren't," I lied.

"Hmmph," she replied, and walked away. I didn't care what she thought. I hoped she believed me, though. I didn't want to have to go into hiding like this again.

Loren tugged on my sleeve, and we started for home. We slowly down the long dirt road before we came to a street. It was the main street, which had two lanes in it. Our town wasn't very big.

It was going to be a long walk home, because we were so tired. We trudged along on the sidewalk for a while. Then we decided that we were hungry. So we went to the mall.

The mall was a decent-sized mall. It had all three department stores, lots of boutiques, clothes, electronics, pretty much everything. But all the stores were small. Before we went in, I looked around us. The mall was the middle of the town. And my house was on the other side. As I looked around the big parking lot, I became nervous. Suddenly, I wanted to go home.

But we couldn't, because we were hungry. We went in, and we saw Jason sitting at a table, eating what looked to be pizza. His short red hair could be seen a mile away. He motioned us over, and we moved towards his table.

"What's up?" he asked nonchalantly as we got to his table. I as on edge, so I snapped at him.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. Now we have to get going, Jason," I said. He looked like I had just slapped him in the face. I'd apologize for it later. Loren just looked stunned, but she followed my lead, and we went into the food court.

As soon as we stepped on the threshold, the smell of Cinnabon, Italian food, and various other greasy, fast food restaurant smells assaulted us. All troubles were forgotten except for the growling in my stomach.

"Mmmmm, smells so good," Loren said hungrily. I agreed with her. We went up to the Italian place, and ordered some pasta. We sat down and ate like two hungry wolves. We ate so fast I didn't even really taste it. I was just so hungry, and food meant energy. I didn't like the feeling of being pursued.

When we had finished, we got some drinks, and left the mall. We got to the front door, and Jason was there, trying to get out. There was a pack of older kids around him, taunting him. He was surrounded by them, and they had something of his they were holding up in the air. Loren and I looked at each other, and broke into a trot. We got to where he was, and the older kids' attention turned to us.

"Jason, get out of here," I said tersely as I was pulled into the circle of boys with Loren next to me.

"I'm not leaving you here, what are you, crazy?"

"Get out of here," I repeated. "I'll take care of us." He gave up, and bolted. He got picked on all the time, and I felt bad for him. But the guys didn't even pay attention to him. Their main attention was focused on us. They started circling us, and there was no way out.

"Kitty, remind me to hurt you when we get out of this one," Loren said. I smiled at her. I knew we would get out of there. I didn't know how I would do it, but I knew that I would get out of there.

One of the bigger guys stepped into the circle, and advanced on me. I saw my opening. I tugged Loren's shirt, and she got the idea. I kicked the guy, and ran through the break in the circle. Loren was close behind me.

"Ahhh!" she cried as she fell face first on the sidewalk. One of the other guys had tripped her. I had to go back!

The guy had picked her up off the ground by her shirt, as I started running back. She didn't need my help, though. She stomped on his foot, which made him loosen his grip. She kicked back, and got him right where it hurt. Then she made a break for it.

We ran, side by side. After a while, the adrenaline wore off, and it turned into fun. It wasn't a long jog to the house, only about fifteen minutes at a fast jog. The food had refueled us, and we were able to pace each other reliably. We loved running together. We did it a lot, when we either needed to talk about something, or we just wanted to get out and do something together.

We rounded a corner, and came to my street. My house was at the very end of the street. I sped up. Loren kicked it up as well. It turned into a race. We were even for a while, and then she pulled ahead. I pooled all my strength, and put on a burst of speed. The house wasn't much farther. I had almost caught up to Loren when I hit the driveway. She didn't stop at the house, however. She kept going, right past the barn, to the woods. I didn't think anything of it. I just followed.

When we reached the trees, she collapsed into a heap of giggling girl. I fell down right next to her, and we pushed each other around for a bit.

"That was a lot of running," she said between gasps.

"Uh huh," was all I said. I pushed her just as she got to her knees, and she went over onto her back. I bent over her to make sure she was all right when she sprang up, and tackled me. I fell back into the soft grass. We kept going until my mom came outside.

"Where have you two been?" she asked, waving a syringe at us.

"Umm, just out and about," I said with a huge grin on my face.

"Sure you were," Loren muttered under her breath. I elbowed her in the side.

"All right, come inside then, and get washed up. Dinner's almost ready."

"Umm, Mom, we've already eaten," I apologized. She shrugged, and pointed to the barn. She didn't mind, but I had other things to do anyway. My mom was wonderful. She let me do a lot of stuff. As long as I was with someone, then it was okay. She didn't want me out by myself, though. So Loren and I went everywhere together.

"Go do your chores, then," she said to me. "Loren, there was a phone call for you," she said soberly. Loren looked stunned. No one ever called Loren, especially not at my house. Even though it was well known that we were best friends, it wasn't known that she almost lived with me. She looked at me, and I nodded. She went inside, and I went to the barn.

Things in the barn weren't too bad. I just cleaned a few cages, and checked up on the wolf and the hawk. The hawk was almost ready to release. In fact, there was nothing left for it to do but let itself heal. It had gotten a broken wing somehow. My mom had picked him up by the side of the road. We had set it, and it had healed, but he needed to use it a bit, to get back the muscle mass. I would tell my mom later.

The wolf was doing well. The splint that I had put on her earlier that week was holding, thank goodness. Those things were a pain to put on, especially on such a wild animal. She was beginning to get back her natural wariness, and I knew if that splint came off, we'd have to sedate her to get it back on. And that wasn't a fun thing to do. I had only barely managed to get it on her without her biting my arm off.

All of a sudden, Loren came trudging into the barn. The look on her face told me everything I needed to know.

"Again?" I asked softly. She nodded slowly. Sometimes when she stayed too long, someone would catch on, and she'd get in major trouble, or something would happen at home. Usually something happened at home. Her parents fought all the time, and her dad sometimes got violent.

"She's in the hospital," Loren said. "My dad wants me to go home." She looked at the ground. She hated going home, especially when her dad got mad. I gave her a hug, and we walked out of the barn.

"Are you going to be all right?" I whispered. She nodded, and walked down the driveway. I watched her go. Her hair glistened in the sunlight, but the bounce was gone from her step. She always tried to be strong, but it didn't always work.

I sighed. I hated watching her leave like that. My mom came out and gave me a hug. She knew what was happening. Somehow, she knew a lot of things. I hugged her tightly. There was a feeling in me that everything was not all right, and that it would all be very wrong shortly.

I ignored that feeling, and went into the house with my mom.

Please review the story. And don't be afraid to point out any mistakes.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. I wish I did, but I don't. - Anyways this story and any characters that are made up are mine and Cassie's. So don't use them without asking.

Just so people now this isn't just my story. My friend Cassie and I came up with this together. We're co-authors. I come up the ideas and she types them up. And the chapters will switch between Kitty's POV and Loren's POV. Enjoy!

Loren's POV 

On top of having to go home to a very mad parent, the sky opened up, and it started raining on my way home. I liked the rain, but this time it only put me in a worse mood than I was already in. I wondered what had happened at home this time. I hated when my dad got in one of his moods. He'd always take it out on my mom. He wouldn't hit me, but he'd yell and blame it all on me. I looked at the ground, and kept trudging home.

The grey sky didn't show any signs of letting up, and it lent an eerie feel to the streets I was walking. It wasn't a short distance to walk. I was walking slow as it was, and the rain didn't help. But I just kept trudging home. I hated leaving Kitty's house and going home like this.

Most of the way home, I thought about what I would say to my dad when I got there. I debated over what kind of mood he'd be in. Sometimes he got all fired up, and other times, he sat in his chair, smoking cigarettes. I didn't know which one it would be this time. He didn't like me going over to Kitty's all the time, though, so he could be really mad at me.

I shoved it out of my mind as I rounded the corner to my street after about an hour of walking. I was soaked to the bone, and shivering. The houses here were bigger, and more expensive. I didn't know how I got to live here, but I did. I had decided to just wing it with my dad. I walked the rest of the way to my house, and stopped. I really hated this. I composed myself, and went up the driveway.

My house was relatively large. It wasn't the largest house in the neighborhood, but it wasn't the smallest, either. Compared to Kitty's house, though, it was huge. It was grey with black shutters, and it had a black door on the right side of the front. The left side lead to the garage. The roof was almost black, but it was really a dark grey, and the rain gave it an even darker look. It looked like some sort of asylum, you know, where they keep insane people. I hated it. I took a deep breath, and opened the door.

The inside wasn't much prettier than the outside. It was bigger inside than it looked, however. The front hall was a big round room with a black slate floor. There was a china cabinet pushed against the far wall, and there were two doorways leading from the front hall. One was to the living room and one to the kitchen. The walls were painted in an offensive shade of green in the front hall, and around the house it usually was grey. It also reeked of cigarette smoke. I shook my head, and walked forward, into the living room.

My dad was sitting in front of the TV in he living room, smoking another cigarette. There was an empty pack next to him, and the TV was showing some really depressing news show. I sighed, and he looked up at me with bloodshot eyes. He must have really done my mom in this time. I shook my head, and turned to go up to my room. I was dripping all over the place; I would have to come back down and clean it up.

"We're going to the hospital in an hour," he said angrily. He bit off each word as if it hurt him to say them. I didn't answer him. I went upstairs to my room.

My room was very neat, and very large. I didn't take any notice, even though I was never there. I flopped down onto my bed, which sank in quite a bit. I laid there and stared at the canopy over my bed. It was plain, white, lacy stuff. I hated it all. I laid there with my wet hair clinging to my face, fighting back tears.

All of a sudden, I was very angry. I hated it here, and I hated my family. I wanted out! I picked up my stuffed bunny sitting in the corner gathering dust, and threw it as hard as I could. It hit the far wall with a satisfying thump. With that, I turned over, and cried, still very wet. I hadn't bothered to change.

I woke up to my dad standing over me, looking menacing. I jumped, and sat up quickly.

"It's time to go," he said gruffly. I almost asked where, but then I remembered: we had to go see my mom in the hospital. I nodded, and he left my room. He was a big man, about 6'4", and very muscular. He was going bald, and also had a temper to rival an Irishman.

I stood up and stretched. I went over to my bureau, and pulled out some dry clothes. I didn't even care that I had gotten my bed all wet. I never used it, anyway. I didn't see why I should care. I changed quickly, and went out to the garage, where my dad was waiting in the car. I got in, and he squealed out of the driveway. I grabbed the dashboard so that I wouldn't fly forward. Then he switched into drive, and took off. The car was small and compact, and accelerated very well, as my dad loved to demonstrate. But there was no love or even liking in his face. He was just plain hopping mad. I was surprised that he didn't drive into a tree or something.

It was a very short drive to the hospital, for which I was extremely glad. Even in the rain, my dad drove like a madman. We got out of the car, and trotted into the building, to get out of the driving rain. We asked at the front desk where my mom would be. They told us which floor, and my dad led me to her room. We started to go in, but someone tapped us on the shoulders.

"Where do you think you're going?" a man asked us. We both turned around, and saw that it was a doctor. He had on a white coat, and his nameplate read Dr. Harmon.

"Uh, we're just going in to see her," my dad said. "We're family."

"She is in no condition to be seen right now. Maybe you could come back later." My dad gave the doctor a look that spelled out big trouble, and then sat in a purple chair across the hall. After about five minutes of total silence, and my dad brooding, I stood up. I couldn't stand just sitting there, waiting to see what he had done to my mom this time.

"You're not going anywhere, young lady," he boomed, looking up at me.

"And why not?" I shot back, backing away from him.

"Because I'm sick of you running off all the time!" he bellowed.

"Too bad. I'm not waiting around here for hours while she recovers enough for you to go in and see her so that you can yell at her some more."

"Why you little-"

"Bye dad," I said. I ran. After a few wrong turns, I made it out into the open air. It was still raining, but who cared about rain? I took off for my house. I didn't want to go to Kitty's house; I didn't want her to see me like this. I hated showing her that I couldn't take things. She was always so strong, and I looked like a child compared to her.

I took a deep breath and started running. I ran past houses, through puddles, and across lawns. I didn't know where I was running to, I just ran. Running was helpful. It helped my cool off. After a while, I wasn't so mad anymore, and I was just running for fun. Eventually, I stopped at a huge tree, and looked all around.

I had never been to this part of town before. Kitty and I had gone near it a couple of times, but we'd never stayed for long. I didn't take much more notice of my surroundings than that, though. I was exhausted.

I leaned against the rough bark of the big tree, which was still relatively dry, thanks to the dense covering of leaves above me. It wasn't too much farther to my house. Only a couple miles. I had come a long way, though. I should have kept moving, because I could smell a storm in the air. But I didn't. I leaned against the tree next to a deserted road, and sorted through my thoughts. I thought about what had happened that day. I slumped against the tree, deep in thought. I hated when he hurt my mom like that.

He was going to be furious with me when he got home. He was probably already furious with me, but he couldn't do anything about it. He had a good reason, too, for once: I had walked out on him in public. There was no telling what was going to happen when he got home. Well, there was, but I didn't like thinking about that. I shivered a bit. Not because of the cold, but the enormity of what had happened that day. I was worried about my mom, too. She was tough, but I didn't know if she was tough enough to take it again. I wanted to go to Kitty, but I ran to her too much. I couldn't depend on her like that. It just wasn't right.

I cut of that train of thought. Obviously thinking wasn't going to sort much of anything out. I took another deep breath, and plunged out into the pouring rain again. I wanted to run again. I was very grateful that I was in good shape.

The dreary landscape depressed me more than I already was. Rain was fine, when I was in a decent mood, and not trying to run two miles back to my house before the storm hit. I stopped running after a bit. It wasn't worth the effort. I wasn't going anywhere important. I ignored the fact that a big storm was coming, and walked slowly home. I watched the scenery, trying to cheer myself up, and to think of a way to tell Kitty what happened. No, I would deal with this one myself. I wouldn't run to her for this one. I was stronger than that! I stomped angrily down the streets, growing ever closer to my house.

The storm broke when I was about a quarter of a mile away from my house. I swore under my breath, and kicked up the pace. The storm was basically on top of me. Lightning was striking within a mile of me. And even though the house wasn't that far away, it seemed like it was a great distance away. The rain started coming down in sheets, drenching me more than I already was. Then the wind picked up, blowing the rain straight into my eyes, and driving needles of cold into my body. I shaded my eyes, and kept slogging towards home. Terror urged me on, but running was out of the question; I couldn't see beyond my hands. Thunder clapped right over my head, and I ducked instinctively. I started to trot, which was not the smartest of ideas. I tripped over the curb, and scraped my elbow. I could barely see it, but I could see that it was bleeding.

I rolled, and stood up. I continued walking as fast as I dared. I looked up, and saw a street sign. I was at my street, finally. I sighed thankfully, and walked down the street. Lightning struck behind me, and the thunder almost deafened me. I leapt to the side, and stood on the grass, watching the rain and the lightning. All I could hear was thunder drumming in my ears. I started walking again.

I finally made it up to my house, which seemed to fit in perfectly with the drab weather. I plodded up to my door. It was a trick to get it open and closed because of the wind. I stood in the front hall, leaning on the door for a few moments. I closed my eyes, and believed that nothing had happened, that I hadn't gotten stuck out in the storm that shook the house, that I hadn't gone to the hospital. I convinced myself that I had just gotten home from Kitty's. I went into the living room to look for my dad. He wasn't there. That's when all my convincing went out the door. I knew that he was at the hospital still, probably arguing with the doctors about whether or not he could see his wife.

I sighed, and walked wearily up the steps to my room. I changed into some old dirty clothes. After dumping my wet clothes down the hamper, I opened my closet doors. I turned on the light in my closet, and looked up. I pulled the cord that came down from the white ceiling. A trap door opened, and a ladder descended. I climbed up, and pulled the ladder up after me. I went to pull the chain for the light, but I remembered that the light had broken a few years ago. I looked around.

The crawlspace was not large by any definition. About the only thing it was good for was hiding small things. I crawled to one side of the crawlspace, and sat down Indian-style. I looked for the candle that I always kept up there. As it turned out, I didn't have to look for it. What I wanted cast a light of its own.

The blue box I had taken was in the far right corner, where I had left it. I hadn't even let Kitty know I had it. I was still debating whether or not that night was real, but it had to have been. I crawled over to the luminescent cube carefully, and lifted it in my hands. A tingle went up my spine. I shivered involuntarily. I went over to the middle of the space, where the roof was the highest, and stood up with the box in my hands.

Standing there with the cube in my hands, I started wondering. I wanted to know what had really gone on at the library. Who were those people? What were those people? Were they even human? Were we really the only hope that earth had? Was it even possible to change into animals? How could we fight something we knew nothing about? My head was spinning with questions. I thought about them for a good long while, just standing there, contemplating. I finally snapped out of it, with no answers to be found.

The cube was heavy, but light at the same time. It was almost as if it were a weight in the mind. My arms weren't tired, but they felt weird. I didn't know why the cube cast the blue light, but it did. It was smooth, and perfectly symmetrical. I thought about the night we had gotten it, about the Andalite, and the cave. And then I thought about the wolf we had touched in Kitty's barn. I concentrated on that wolf. I wanted that wolf. More than anything, I wanted to _be_ that wolf.

The changes took place slowly. At first, I stopped them, and looked at myself in the tall mirror and stared. My hands and feet were turning into paws, and soon I wouldn't be able to stand up. My nose was elongated, and I had a stump of a tail. I concentrated on that wolf again. The changes started happening faster. My clothes dropped to the floor beside me. I was zooming toward the ground. I fell forward onto four legs, just as my tail began to grow to its full size.

I lifted my mouth in a howl. An eerie noise came out, which shook everything around me. I was inside. Why was I inside? I wanted out. I wanted to run.

I scampered across the strange floor. I wasn't used to that kind of surface. It was smooth and glossy. Not like the dirt or stones I was used to, that I wanted. My nose bumped into some sort of barrier. Maybe a tree, but it didn't smell like a tree. I howled again, and again, the barriers shook. Then something from the inside started gnawing at me; I was hungry. I wanted food, I wanted the hunt! I sniffed around, and strange smells pervaded my senses. This was like nothing I had ever known. There was one thing, though. I smelled a human. That was the only familiar thing I could discern. I looked around in the semi darkness. It may have well been light, though. I had wonderful sight, and even better smell and hearing.

There was a pile of some sort near the other side of my cage. I scampered over to it. It smelled strongly of human. I picked some of it up in my mouth, and shook it around. No food there. I was hungry, and I wanted out. Both those things made me anxious, and an anxious wolf is not a good thing. I started clawing at the barriers, and howling. I _needed_ to get out of that enclosure!

I shook my head. This wasn't right! I wasn't a wolf, I was human! I was human. I shook my large grey head, and loped over to my clothes. I like the wolf body, though. After some trial and error, I was able to push the wolf mind back, and put mine superior to it. I nosed my clothing, and reminded myself of my humanity.

It didn't dawn on me until I was human again that I was stark naked. I couldn't change in clothing. I had to do something about that. I wondered if I could morph in anything. I would have to ask Kitty or her mom I blushed, even in the dark, and put my clothes back on. I hid the cube again, and descended the ladder down to my room.

It was much darker than it had been when I had gone up into the crawlspace. I couldn't hear any more thunder, though, and recalled that I hadn't heard any while I was up there, anyway. I went downstairs, expecting my dad to be there. He wasn't. No skin off my teeth. I shrugged, and went to the fridge. As usual, there was nothing decent to eat. I was tremendously hungry, though, so I managed to crack a few eggs, and scrambled them.

As I was eating them at the table, I noticed the time: it was almost eleven. I shoveled the rest of my eggs into my mouth, and got ready for bed. I passively wondered if my dad was going to come home. I didn't much care, because all he would do was yell at me and go smoke some more. I sighed. I didn't want to think about home life. I wanted to think about what had happened.

Of course, I couldn't tell Kitty. Not yet, anyway. I had to figure out what really had happened, and how the animal's mind had gotten control of me, and if there was a way to take control from the start of the change. I thought about it for a long time, and I even dreamed about it. I dreamt that I was a wolf, and that I was out prowling the woods at night. Very cool.

I woke up with sun streaming into my eyes. I looked out my window; the sun was really high in the sky. Then I looked at my clock: it was almost ten. Even though I wasn't a morning person, so to speak, I never slept in that late. I jumped out of bed, and went to look for Kitty. Wait, Kitty wasn't here. I was at my house. I shook my head, got dressed, and went downstairs.

It was totally silent. There was no TV going, no breakfast burning on the stove, nothing. I looked around for my dad, but he wasn't there. He'll be home soon, I figured. I made myself a quick breakfast, and went outside, to look what the storm had done.

Outside, there were trees knocked over, power lines down on the next street, and a lot of debris in the road. All in all, it looked like the storm had not been too pleasant after I had gotten inside. I saw a group of people trying to haul a tree off of someone's house a few streets over. I went over to help them. It would give me something to do, and would take my mind off of everything.

Helping clean up took most of the day. We cleaned up the whole neighborhood. I was very glad it was a weekend, and I didn't have school the next day. I was exhausted. After many thank you's, and offers to go over to people's houses for dinner, I made my way home to a still-empty house. I grabbed some food to satisfy my growling stomach. Then I went back up to the crawlspace.

Up there, I started to take my clothes off first, but then I thought about it. Maybe I could change with clothing. I remembered Kitty's mom saying something about tight clothes. Maybe that's what they changed with. I hoped so. I didn't like ending up without the clothing I started in. I climbed back down the ladder, and pulled out a very old tee shirt that was from second grade, and fight very tightly, and I found an old pair of leggings. I put both of them on, and went back up to the crawlspace.

I concentrated on the wolf, and on keeping my clothing on, however uncomfortable it was. If this worked, I would have to buy something more comfortable, because even in the dark, not having clothes is embarrassing. I changed into the wolf, more rapidly than before, and this time, it felt like the clothes had stayed on. That was a good thing. Next, I focused on the wolf's mind, and on controlling it.

It worked. I had full control if its senses and movements. My sense of smell was so much better than a human's was. I could smell what I had eaten for breakfast up here, and it was past dinnertime. I smelled something else, too. It was odd; I'd never smelled it before. I had no idea what it was. I let the wolf mind surface; it was a human scent. It was me! I smelled me. Very weird, but neat at the same time.

My hearing was a lot better, too. I could hear little ants or termites in our walls. I didn't think we had any bugs in our house. I tried moving my ears. They worked individually. That was very cool. I could hear everything inside the house, and a little outside it as well. Nothing was going on except the tiny scritch-scratch of the insects.

Then I tried moving. It took me a while to coordinate all the muscles properly, but finally I could move successfully. Four legs were harder to manage than two. The floor was slippery as well, which didn't help. Then I noticed that the ladder was still down. A pair of eyes looked up curiously at me. I didn't think they saw me, so I moved quietly and quickly back to the farthest corner of the space.

"Hello?" an unfamiliar voice said. "Is there someone up there?" I stayed absolutely silent. "Well, if you are, are you all right? The door was open, so I just came in. With the storm and all-" he trailed off. I changed quickly back to human. He started climbing the ladder. I threw my clothes over the cube so he wouldn't see it. "Hey, are you all right?" he asked as he spotted me sitting in the corner.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied. I recognized him from earlier that day when we were cleaning up. "I helped you clean up today, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, obviously worried.

"I'm fine," I repeated.

"You're all alone, and up here. How come?"

"I like it up here. It's isolated. I'm not much for social contact."

"But what about your parents?"

"They're out for the weekend," I lied. I hoped that my dad would come back soon, but I had no way of knowing.

"All right then," he said. "But if you need anything, I'll be happy to help you."

"I'll be fine, thanks though." I smiled at him. He climbed down the ladder. I waited until I heard the door shut behind him. I stayed where I was for a moment.

How could I have missed him in my wolf form? I had superior senses of smell, hearing, and probably everything else, too. I must have been concentrating too hard on other things, I told myself. Now it's time for you to get some sleep.

I scurried down the ladder, and looked up at the crawlspace. I sighed. I knew that I couldn't tell Kitty about it yet. She probably didn't even believe it. I didn't even believe it yet. I closed the trap door, walked over to my bed, and flopped onto it. I knew that my dad wasn't home yet, and I was starting to get worried. Yeah, he left sometimes, but never for two straight days. I cleared my thoughts, and went to sleep.

When I woke up, it was about eight. I still didn't have school. Even if I'd had school, I wouldn't have gone. There was too much going on. Besides, we were coming up on a break, and only had one day of school that week. I jumped out of bed, and noticed my attire. I laughed, and pulled some decent clothes on. I bounded outside, giddy for no reason. I usually hated mornings, but this change was all right with me.

I went over to see Tommy and Jason that day. They were partying, as usual. I stayed with them all day, forgetting everything that had happened in my crawlspace. I had fun, and came home late. My dad still wasn't home, and neither was my mom. I knew that she should be home at least. That was weird. I decided to go over to Kitty's. I had no food at my house anymore. I had eaten what little we'd had.

I went upstairs, and got out a little bag. I stuffed a few changes of clothing in there, not that I didn't have enough over at Kitty's, but because I wanted to, and then I went up to get the cube. I didn't know why, but I took it with me. I looked around my room for the last time, and left. I even locked the door, which was something I'd never done before.

When I got to Kitty's, she was in the barn. She took one look at me, and dropped everything she was doing. She knew that something had gone seriously wrong. I knew it too, but it didn't present itself in that way.

"Why do you have a bag? You never bring one," she said with concern.

"I'm not going back," I said softly. I loved the idea of never having to go back, but I hadn't really wanted Kitty to know yet. She hugged me, and we went inside.

Please review the story. And don't be afraid to point out any mistakes.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. I wish I did, but I don't. - Anyways this story and any characters that are made up are mine and Cassie's. So don't use them without asking.

Just so people now this isn't just my story. My friend Cassie and I came up with this together. We're co-authors. I come up the ideas and she types them up. And the chapters will switch between Kitty's POV and Loren's POV. Enjoy!

**Kitty's POV**

I knew something had gone wrong. Loren never came like that. She wasn't upset, but she wasn't happy, either. I couldn't tell if she was trying to look happy or not. I'd never seen her like that before. I wanted to ask her, but under her visage, she was really disturbed about something. And the fact that she wasn't going back puzzled me. Even though she hated her home, she always went back. I stopped thinking about it. I knew I would find out sooner or later.

I followed her into the house, and we went up to my room. I left her in there alone, and went to talk to my mom. I opened the door to my room to find her standing right there.

"Hi, mom," I said. She took my by the arm, and we went into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" she asked me. She had watched us from the window. She knew something was up.

"I wish I knew. She said she wasn't going back, though." My mom sighed.

"I've been expecting this for a while," she said softly. I wondered how she knew. "Go back up and talk to her. We'll give her the guest room. She can't sleep over in your room every night." I nodded, and went back to my room.

I got there, and Loren was crying softly. I knew she didn't want me to see her like that, but I knew something very wrong had happened, and it had to be said or let out one way or another.

"Loren, what's going on?" I asked her as I sat down next to her and put an arm around her. She shook her head, and collapsed into sobs. I tried my best to calm her down, but what had been done, was done.

I let her lean on me and cry until she had no tears left. Then she told me everything that had happened, including morphing into a wolf. I was shocked; I had never expected anything like that from her. Oh well, people change, I said to myself. I really hadn't believed it, even after what Marco said. It's such a hard thing to believe. But I guess that somewhere inside of me, I knew that it was true, and that it would come back and affect us.

"Kitty?" she asked.

"What?" I answered.

"Can we go out back and change into wolves? It's a lot of fun. It gets my mind off of things, too."

"It's not supposed to be used for that," I started. But then I thought about it. If she was hurting this bad, it couldn't be a bad thing to try and cheer her up a bit. Besides, I wanted to try to turn into an animal. It seemed like fun, but at the same time, what morphing meant to us, and our lives, was oppressive. "I suppose we could try it," I amended. She brightened considerably, and led me out to the woods.

When we got there, the ground was still wet from the storm. I could smell the wet ground and the wet trees. I loved the smell and the feel of the woods when it was wet. It was beautiful. It was almost a different place after a rainstorm. We pushed further into the woods, and then she stopped by the cave. She took off her shirt and pants, and tossed them into the cave's entrance. I gaped at her.

She was wearing a pink and purple tye-dye shirt that was very tight, and black leggings were even tighter, if that was possible. She grinned at me, and then mouthed the word, "oops."

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

"I forgot to tell you," she started.

"What?" I repeated.

"You can't change, or morph, whatever, in anything but skintight clothing," she said with a small giggle. I shrugged. She must have found that out the hard way.

"Okay, as long as we change back to humans _inside_ the cave," I said. She nodded, and began to change. I watched her in amazement.

First, soft grey fur rippled across her entire body. I almost laughed; she looked like a werewolf. Then all of a sudden, her nose sprouted outward, and her skull flattened. It was sickening to watch, but at the same time, I couldn't look away. Her ears rotated, moved to the top of her head, and grew pointy. Her hands and feet changed into a wolf's paws, and she sank to all fours. Then she shrunk. She was the size of a wolf, without a tail. Then, the tail erupted from her backside, and she was a wolf. I gaped at the wolf who was my best friend. She stared back, and howled loudly. The noise reverberated through the woods and the cave.

"And that's supposed to mean what?" I asked her with a smile. She was right, this was going to be a lot of fun.

Hurry up, Kitty, her voice said. But I hadn't _heard_ it. It was inside my head somehow!

"How'd you do that?" I asked.

I don't know, she said, shaking her grey head. I've never tried talking before. Come on! Try morphing, but be careful of its instincts. I had no clue what she meant, but I tried to morph.

I concentrated on the wolf. I could feel the changes begin. I concentrated harder, and they happened more rapidly. I had wolf ears on top of a human head, and I had a tail. Then I changed back to human; I wanted to try something.

Kitty? What are you doing? Loren protested. I ignored her, and started changing again.

This time, I wanted a tail. I concentrated on having a tail first. It worked. The tail sprouted from my spine. I waved it in the air, and looked over my shoulder to see it. This was fascinating! I wanted the wolf's head next. My ears shifted and rotated, and I could hear bones rearrange as my skull flattened out, and my nose stretched to an outrageous distance. Then I completed the morph. This was very cool. The wolf's mind surfaced, and it wanted food. And it wanted to run.

I started to trot, but I remembered Loren's warning about its instincts. I took control of the wolf's mind with little difficulty. I noticed my clothes lying on the ground in front of the cave. I trotted over, and picked them up in my mouth, and carried them inside the cave a little. I tried to talk to Loren.

Let's go! I yelled. She reared up on her hind legs, and took off.

It was exhilarating. I could smell everything, I could hear everything, and my sight, my sight was astonishing. I ran side by side with Loren for miles. That's a good thing about wolves: they don't tire easily. We had run for almost two hours, when I stopped suddenly. I had an excellent sense of time.

Loren? I said quietly.

What? she asked.

Did my mom ever say anything about how long we could stay in morph? It's been a couple hours. How long can we stay in morph? 

I'm not sure, Loren said thoughtfully. But she definitely did say something about a time limit. I remember that much. 

You have two hours in any specific morph, a different voice said. We spun around, but we couldn't see anything. We looked all around us, but we still didn't see the speaker. I smelled the wind, and smelled nothing out of the ordinary. There was a hawk perched above us, but there was no Andalite, or anything of the sort.

Look up, the voice said, amused. We did, and there was the hawk I had detected.

You see, you and I smell no different than a normal animal would. It's just that we have other forms, and can talk in other people's minds. You have to control your thought speech, he admonished gently. Now demorph, so we don't have two other _nothlits_ roaming the woods. If a wolf could have shrugged, that's what I did. I started to demorph, then remembered that I wouldn't have any clothes on.

Hey, whoever you are? I said to the hawk. I left my clothes in a cave a few miles back. Could you go get them, please? I heard him fly away, and Loren's giggle in my head. I loped behind a tall tree, and demorphed. Loren demorphed a little ways away. I heard her laughing in exhilaration. I crouched down, and leaned against the tree, waiting for the mystery bird to come back.

I'm back, the hawk said as a bundle of clothing was dropped next to me. Then I realised how poor human senses were compared to those of animals. I hadn't even heard him approach. I looked at him from behind the tree. I wondered who he was.

I shrugged, pulled my clothes on, and stepped out from behind the tree. Loren was standing there in her little outfit, and the hawk was perched on a low branch. I swear, if hawks could have laughed, he would have been.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

I could hear your thought-speech for a mile, he said. You have to control it better. 

"What do you mean?" Loren asked as she looked up at him.

"Who are you?" I asked at the same time. He looked at me first.

I am a _nothlit_. I am trapped in morph, he said. I looked up abruptly. Now things made sense!

"Then are you the other Andalite?"

No, but I have a morph of Aximilli, and I used it that day, he said, staring at us with his golden eyes. I thought he was glaring at me but then I thought about it. Hawks can't do anything but glare, really. We should get back, he said suddenly. You have come a long way, and we'd best hurry. And no morphing, he added to Loren, who looked ready to jump back into her wolf skin.

We walked through the woods, back to the cave. The hawk flitted from one branch to another, leading us in the right direction. I really had no need of him, since I knew the woods, but I didn't really pay that much attention to him. I just followed Loren, who was looking up at him interestedly. We had only come about four or five miles, but as wolves, we had circled and romped a lot. I looked around us. The scenery was beautiful as always, and it still smelled wet. I breathed deeply, and kept moving.

When we got back to the cave, a couple hours later, Marco was already there waiting for us. His arms were crossed, and he was leaning against the rock. He looked stern, but then he spoke to us.

"About time you two showed up. I've been waiting here for hours," he said with a grin.

"Sure you were," I said. Loren went into the cave and came out fully dressed.

"I see you've figured out most of what you needed to," he said.

"Not really," I said, as the hawk started speaking.

Not quite, he interjected. I could hear them talking from my perch. He didn't sound too happy about it, either.

"They just started, Tobias. So they haven't figured out how not to broadband their speech yet. They'll learn." He smiled at us. "So, did you have fun?" Loren nodded vigorously. I wasn't quite sure.

"Come on, Kitty. It was fun!" Loren said enthusiastically. I nodded. Then the trees filled with white mist.

I had had a feeling something was going to happen. And this was it. I saw a battle. There was a grizzly bear, a hawk, an Andalite, a tiger, a gorilla, and a wolf. They were fighting hundreds of big centipede-like things. The Andalite was slicing through them like they were butter, and its comrades fell upon the wounded creature with fervor. All of the animorphs worked in a similar way; they would hurt one of the creatures, and others would fall upon in with zeal. The sight made me shiver in disgust. Then I saw the same grizzly on board some type of vessel with a polar bear, a snake, and other various dangerous animals. The grizzly was obviously wounded. A dracon beam fired, hitting the bear. It fell to the ground, and reached around blindly on the floor. I noticed the snake right next to her, and realised that the snake was what she was reaching for. She finally caught it in her massive brown paw, clenched it tight, and bit off its head. Some more shots were fired at her. She made moves to get up. As she was getting up, she was turning into a human. She emerged into the tall blonde girl. As soon as she was done with the changes, the polar bear came forward. She looked at him without fear. She must have known, though! She must have, but he finished her with one swat of his paw. I looked away, and didn't see more.

I had a feeling that those things were important, but I didn't know why. Maybe they were telling me not to use morphs just for fun. I didn't know. Or maybe they were foreshadowing my future by showing me the past. Whatever they were, I didn't like them.

The trees started to come back through the fog, and Loren was shaking me, looking very worried.

"Kitty? Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "Really," I said as she frowned. I grinned idiotically, and eventually she smiled.

"All right," she said, but she didn't believe me. Then we all trooped back to my house. Marco came with us, frowning for some reason. I wanted to talk to him, to ask him what had really happened to us, but I knew that I couldn't. At least, not yet. I needed to find some answers on my own. And I needed to figure out exactly what it was that I had just seen. Who was that taller girl? I knew that her name was Rachel, and that she loved a good fight, but I needed to know more about her. I decided to ask my mom.

We got to the house, and my mom was waiting for us. She already knew that we had been out cavorting. I smiled at her. She didn't smile back. She slipped into the living room, and sat on the couch. We all sat somewhere. I sat on the floor facing the couch, and Loren sat next to me. Marco and my mom seated themselves on the couch, and faced us, grave looks on their faces.

"You know that what you two just did was not necessarily the best thing to do," my mom started out. Loren opened her mouth to protest, but I elbowed her. I nodded for my mom to go on.

"This same thing happened to us a long time ago," Marco said softly. The look in his eyes was one of remembrance. And some of those could not have been all too pleasant.

"We know," I whispered, not wanting to break the solemnity that had descended upon the four of us.

"You have the ability to change into any animal that you can touch. But there are rules, and you cannot break those rules unless you wish to face the most dire consequences," my mom said.

"Tobias broke one of those rules," Marco said. "He is now a _nothlit_. One who is trapped in morph." He paused for a moment, composing himself. "There is a limit of two hours in any morph. If you go beyond that, you will also be trapped in morph. Do not push that boundary. We did, once. We were all almost trapped, half animal, half human. Not a pretty sight," Marco said, with a little glint in his eyes. It was comforting, in a way, to see that all of the battles had not killed the spark in his eyes, and had not squashed his personality.

"As you probably already know," my mom started. "You cannot morph in anything but skintight clothing. You will need to find something comfortable and tight, as you will need to wear it all the time. You cannot predict when you will next need to morph." She sounded so formal, so stiff. But I could tell that she, too, was remembering. And I could guess that times had been extremely hard for her. She was always so kind, so giving. Battle, or war, whichever one preferred, was not the most pleasant of things to live through. And the death of Rachel had devastated her. That much had been obvious.

"And your speech," Marco cut in. "You must learn to narrowly broadcast it, or any living thing within a decent distance can hear you speak. And that's not always good when you're rattling off your battle plan. It's like talking into a megaphone, or talking on a radio: broadcast everywhere. But, just try to control it, and only talk to the person that you wish to speak to. Almost like a whisper." He seemed lost for words.

"How did you learn to do it?" Loren asked.

"We practiced it," he answered. I nodded in understanding.

"We need to tell you about things," my mom said. "You need to know. This can't be started from the beginning again. I'm sorry," she said with a look of total sincerity that scared me.

She talked for a long time. It was mainly about the same things, over and over again. She told us that morphing was not to be used for fun, and that its significance was inexplicable unless we had experienced it. I knew what she was talking about. Morphing was a gift, and a curse. It was truly amazing to be turning into animals, but at the same time, why you had to turn into animals was terrifying. And to think that the only way to save the world was to change into these different animals was stupefying. But she also talked about the Yeerks. About how they entered your brain, about how they took over every motion, every thought that you had. She talked about Kandrona rays, but I discarded that almost immediately. I didn't know why. She told us about the Yeerk pools. How they had to feed every three days. Then she moved on, and that information passed out of my mind. I was getting tired.

It got very late, and my mom got tired. Have you ever been so tired that you felt intoxicated? Well, that's how my mom looked. She started talking about Rachel and Jake. She loved Jake, but hated him at the same time. And Rachel, well, Rachel was just Rachel. Her super-model self, her spunkiness, her love for the battle... Marco stopped her after a while, and told us to go to bed.

We went upstairs without a word, and I flopped down into my bed while listening to Loren splashing water on her face in the bathroom. I stared at the ceiling. A lot had happened that day. The repercussions of it would last forever, I knew.

I went to sleep thinking about Loren, about what I had seen that day, and about my mom. I hoped that Loren would be all right through all of this. She was frail in ways, but so strong in others. And what had happened to her had hit her in her weak spots. I shook my head. I knew she would recover. She always did, and she was always stronger for it. I heard her get out of the bathroom, and go into the guest room, which was adjacent to mine. She moved around for a long while, and then went to bed.

I started thinking about my mom. She had been really shaken up by our little 'discovery.' We had finally believed in that night enough to actually try to turn into animals. That alone shocked her. The impact of what we would have to do later must have done severe damage. It scared me. And I wasn't scared of much. But what she had said about Rachel made sense.

If I had really seen Rachel, which I know I couldn't have, but I did, she was one for the battle. Her flowing blonde hair, her keen blue eyes, and her physique all made for a wonderful fighter. Her mindset was something that I couldn't hear, but I could see it. The way she had stared down that polar bear made me shiver. Then it made me think. Is that how we would turn out? Battle-hungry creatures? I didn't want that. But I supposed that it couldn't be helped. You can never tell what a person will turn out to be.

I finally fell asleep, thinking about polar bears, grizzly bears, and snakes. I tossed and turned all night, and didn't get much sleep, but I managed to crawl out of bed in the morning. I also was able to be decent to Loren and my mom, which, for being as tired as I was, was quite an accomplishment. I did get through the day at school, though. I didn't know why, but it always perked me up. I got to se everybody I knew and liked, I guess. And that's about how the next few days went: quickly.

Later in the week, Tommy and Jason invited us to hang out with them again. This time Jason said he would go. We were headed to the library, again. Loren wanted to go with them, but I had a bad feeling. I remembered all too well the first time we had gone with them. I didn't see how Loren could not remember, but I shrugged, and went with it anyway.

Jason didn't walk with us, saying he had something top do at home. He did say that he would meet us there, though. I smiled. He was always like that. He and Tommy were such opposites. But they got along so well. When we got to the library, covered in dust from the road, we stood outside for a minute. It had been extremely dry, which was why we were standing outside, beating the dust off of each other before we went in and sat down.

We finally got enough dust off of us to look decent. Then we went in and sat down in the same spot that we had been in before. The feeling in my gut kept getting worse. I sat down, and tried not to fidget. I was anxious, but I didn't want anyone knowing it. This was important. Where did that come from? I thought. I didn't know what I was getting into, but it wasn't good, in all probability. We sat there for about five minutes, totally silent. A few looks passed between Loren and Tommy, but other than that, nothing. I stared at the books.

"I guess they're not coming, again," Tommy said finally. He grinned at us. I hated when he did that! His smile was too cute. It bothered me. I smiled back at him, and stood up.

"So? What are we going to do this time?" Loren asked. He smiled at her, and stood up. I could see her all but melt when he smiled at her. I looked away. It was embarrassing to watch her flirt like that.

"Come on, and don't get scared this time," he said with a smirk. I wanted to slap him.

"Very funny," I retorted. He just looked at me, as if to dare me to follow him down those stairs. I moved towards the steps, telling him that I could do anything he could. I was stupid like that. If someone dared me to do something, I'd do it.

"Let's go," he said.

We went to the door, and this time I noticed him punch in some sort of code. He turned around and flashed us some sort of smile, as if reassuring us of something, or reassuring himself that we were still following him. Then we started down the dark stairs. We descended for what seemed like forever. The steps seemed even longer this time. The walls became slippery, as did the steps as we went down farther and farther. It didn't smell to great, either. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, and then concentrated on not falling down the increasingly dampening steps.

Tommy looked back at us once in a while, but after a while it became too dark to see him. We could only hear his footsteps echoing in the stairwell. He never paused, never faltered. Loren and I tried not to slip or fall; there was no handrail. As a result, we went a lot slower than he did.

"Tommy, can't you wait up?" Loren whined. She hated the dark, and we all knew it. We heard him stop, and we finally caught up to him. He put a finger to his lips for silence, as if our coming was a secret. Not that we could have been heard above all the ruckus coming from the party or whatever it was down there. But then he took off again, and we had no choice but to follow. I shrugged, and kept going. Loren kept a hand on my back, assuring her position on the steps.

As we reached the last part of the staircase, a faint light shone on us. It was a sickly yellowish light, accompanying the noise from the party. We could see brighter light up ahead, at the end of the stairs. The noise only got louder as we got closer. We hurried our step a little, and Tommy was waiting for us at the bottom, grinning like an idiot.

"About time," he said with, still grinning. Loren and I looked at each other and smiled. We'd already heard that earlier in the week. Neither one of us had forgotten our little frolic in the woods. I had told her what I'd seen, and she had just stared at me. But after a while, she understood that I wasn't kidding. She thought that it was both a foreshadowing of future events, and a warning. I agreed with her. We stepped into the room with Tommy.

The room we entered was brightly lit, and crammed with people. There were chairs in a semi-circle in front of a TV, a drink counter, a pool table, everything you could want. I wondered why it was under the library, and not above ground. It would make an awesome club. Tommy led us to the drink counter, and ordered sodas.

"New guests?" the bartender asked Tommy with a wink, looking us over.

"Yep," he answered, also with a wink. All of a sudden, I didn't like that place. I wanted out.

"Umm, Tommy, we're going to sit down," I said, and tugged on Loren's shirt. She followed me to the chairs.

They were relatively comfortable, black, and leather. I liked leather, even though it was dead animal skin. I didn't even glance at the TV; I never watched it anyway. Loren sat on the arm of my chair, as there was nowhere else for her to sit.

"Are you all right?" she asked, looking down at me.

"Yeah, the noise is getting to me, that's all," I lied. It was noisy, but I'd never cared much about noise. I got it all the time in the barn. But I hoped that Loren didn't know that. I wanted to figure out what was wrong with this place.

Just then, Tommy came to us with our sodas. I took mine, and sipped at it. The cool liquid felt good going down my throat. I looked around, ignoring the conversation Loren and Tommy were having. I saw a faintly outlined door in the far corner. I frowned, and leaned forward a bit to see it better. The outline was glowing slightly. I frowned even more, and squinted. Sure enough, it was glowing.

As I was going to say something, Tommy put his glass down on a convenient table, and pulled Loren to her feet. She leaned against him, looking at me.

"Come on, Kitty," he said playfully. He led Loren away, and I had no choice but to follow him. I stood there for a second, watching Tommy's and Loren's backs. Tommy was so muscular. But I could still beat him. I grinned, and went after them.

Loren was giggling as some remark of his when I caught up. We were headed towards the door. Part of my balked, knowing it wasn't going to be pleasant, but another part of me wanted to see it, wanted to know what was beyond that door.

"Kitty, you may not want to go back there," Tommy said with a smirk. "It may be scary." That was an insult. I reached out to slug him good and hard, but Loren caught my arm. She had a big smile on her face. That was good for her if she liked some cute guy that hung on her. I thought he was an idiot. He cared way too much about his looks. I grabbed my arm back and glared at him.

"Nice try," he said smugly. He smirked at us, and kept walking. He walked to the outlined door, and it just disappeared, and he walked right through the open space. Loren dropped his arm, and gaped. I was staring as well, but not at the door.

Beyond the door were cages. In the cages were people, and other creatures. Some of the people were howling and screeching like animals. Others sat and cried, and the rest just stood there in resignation, waiting for whatever punishment they were receiving. I was astounded and outraged. I was going to say something to Loren when Tommy appeared again, and told us to move it. There was a change in his voice. I knew that we had come too far to go back, and to say something would most certainly get us the same treatment that the creatures and humans in the cage were receiving. But how was Tommy a part of this horror?

We went through the space in the wall, and the door reappeared as soon as we crossed. I tried backing up into it, but it remained solid. In the middle of the chamber was a large pool of grey, viscous liquid. The noise in there was terrible. The wailing of people, the yelling of the guards at people, the struggles that broke out intermittently were awful. I looked around me.

There were two lines leading up to the pool. In each line, there was a pair of strange-looking creatures assisting, or forcing, people to bend their heads down to the pool. When we got closer, I could see a slug-like thing ooze out of their ear, and plop into the pool in one line. In the other, I could see the slug ooze back into the person's ear. I looked at Loren, and she looked petrified. I could understand her sentiment. I was too, but I didn't show it. She had dropped Tommy's arm, and was headed back to me. I put a protective arm around her, and she calmed a little. She stared at the pool, at the cages, with rapt fascination.

Tommy stopped and looked back at us. There was a mean glint in his eyes. He started advancing towards us. I backed against the door, hoping that it would open for me. Then I heard a familiar voice shouting.

"Kitty! Loren! Get out of here!" It was Jason! We looked at each other, and then looked around for Jason. We saw him, alone in a huge cage. We started to run over to him, but a seven-foot tall monster with razor blades sticking out of its body stepped in our way.

"Uh oh," Loren said to me quietly. In spite of my fear, I had to smile. What a thing to say when faced with a creature that has razor blades sticking out from its forehead, arms, ankles, and other places.

We backed up a good ways, and bumped into something squishy. We turned around, and saw one of the centipede-like things that I had seen earlier that week. It opened its round mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. I stifled a scream, and ran back to the door, just as someone came through. Loren was right behind me, and we burst through the space together. We looked around us. Everyone was staring at the two girls who had just burst through their door. Some of them approached us with menacing looks in their eyes. We looked at each other, and ran straight for the stairs.

We hit the stairs, and I slipped on the damp stone and banged my knee. I said something that shouldn't be repeated, and clambered up to Loren, and we ran together.

Tsseeeew! A beam of red light brushed past my shoulder. I could feel the heat radiating from it, even though it hadn't hit me. I had a sickening flash of knowledge of what it could do if it did hit me, or anyone. We ran up the steps even faster, trying to outrun the people climbing up after us.

I heard an animal roar that reverberated throughout the whole staircase, and made the stone walls tremble. I was afraid to look back. But I knew that whoever or whatever was down there was not happy.

"Why don't we morph?" Loren panted.

"No time," I said tersely, panting as well. Then, the steps didn't seem to have substance anymore. We flew up them like they were nothing. Almost as if we had wings. I got a tingling feeling up and down my spine, but I kept going. Loren was right beside me. I didn't know if she noticed it or not, but her steps were getting slower and slower. But at the same time, they were getting fainter.

When we got to the door, the world ceased to exist.

We were floating in nothingness. We could see the library, and the staircase, but they were far away. Where are my mom and Marco? I wondered silently. I didn't know why they should have been there, but I just knew that they should have been.

"_They are coming,"_ a voice that was all around me said. I looked wildly around, but I couldn't see anything in the white mists. I didn't want to say anything aloud, and I had a feeling that whatever had spoken would hear me anyway.

Please review the story. And don't be afraid to point out any mistakes.


	10. Chapteer 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. I wish I did, but I don't. - Anyways this story and any characters that are made up are mine and Cassie's. So don't use them without asking.

Just so people now this isn't just my story. My friend Cassie and I came up with this together. We're co-authors. I come up the ideas and she types them up. And the chapters will switch between Kitty's POV and Loren's POV. Enjoy!

**Kitty's POV**

"Kitty, where are we?" Loren asked. I could see her, but she was filmy, without substance. It was almost as if she, too, was everywhere around me.

"_You are in my realm now, humans."_ As the voice said that, the library became clearer, and I could see the outside of it, and Marco and my mom were running towards it. We saw the stairs, and the people that had been chasing us were headed down the stairs. What's going on? I asked myself.

"_You were being chased by Controllers. I took you to my realm. Now it is time for you to leave."_ All of a sudden, we were in the center of the library. Marco and my mom burst into the library, and almost ran into us.

"We saw the Ellimist," my mom said breathlessly. "He showed us what was happening." Her and Marco stared at us.

"Hey, guys?" he said. "Let's either get out of here or fight. Tobias is on his way, but he won't be here for about another minute. He had to finish eating." He looked about to make some comment or other about Tobias' eating habits, but my mom glared at him, and he kept his mouth shut.

"Let's go outside and wait," I suggested. "Let them think that we've run away. They won't be prepared for us when we go back." The three of them stared at me like I'd just grown another head.

"That's a great idea," Marco said finally. "Assuming it doesn't get us killed first," he added. He gestured to the door. It was opening slowly. We made a break for it, and burst out into the sunlight. I led them to the spot where me and Loren had hid before. We crouched down in the bushes, and waited. We saw Tobias flying above us. He had made it in time, it appeared. He looked straight at us.

They're not following you, he said quietly. I nodded to signal that I had heard, and then started morphing. First, though, I shed my outer layer of clothing to reveal my morphing outfit, which consisted of spandex shorts and a tight workout top. Then I turned into the only animal I knew: a wolf. Everyone took my lead. Tobias stayed as a hawk. My mom turned into a wolf as well, and Marco into a gorilla. I sent Tobias up into the sky to make sure we were clear, and then I bounded out into the open.

My wolf mind didn't like the open: neither did I. We made our way quickly and quietly to the doors of the library.

All right, I said. Let's make them know we're here! Marco let out a cry of elation. Let me tell you, a gorilla screaming for any reason is a scary thing. Even as a wolf I was almost scared by him.

You guys do know that I haven't morphed in a long time, my mom said quietly. She hung back from the door as Loren and I started forward.

Mom, don't worry about that now. Let's go kick some Yeerk butt! I let out a howl that shook the walls, and my mom and Loren joined in. We burst into the library, and looked around. There was no one there. Or if there had been, they were gone. We raced to the secret door, and barged through it, literally (gorillas are very good for that), and barged down the stairwell.

In wolf form, the stairs took no effort. Well, there was the aspect that they got a little slippery, but I didn't care. We were making good time. My head buzzed. I knew that we were going to fight, and the thought both excited and repulsed me. But it was what had to be done, I told myself. It's not something to enjoy or hate. We're saving the world!

I almost howled, but we were trying to come up in surprise. If they knew we were coming, we'd be cornered on the steps, and basically dead. We finally reached the room we had been in before. I was first, and I leapt out, and moved to the side to let everyone else in.

My mom was right after me. She jumped the opposite direction I had. She bared her teeth in a growl. Marco and Tobias were next. Marco had had to carry Tobias; he hadn't been able to see in the dark well enough to fly. Loren was right on their tail. We probably made a very scary sight. Three wolves, a huge gorilla, and a mean-looking bird.

The Controllers scattered, and some grabbed the little hand-held things that shot red blasts of light. I knew enough to dodge those. A few sizzled the air just above my head, but the wolf was fast enough not to get hit. So far, everything was going all right.

I had some sort of a plan forming in my head, but I didn't know how it could be done. As I was thinking about it, I was leading everyone to the door, and dodging the weapons fire. I knew what would await us beyond that door. We had to be quick. I assumed that everyone knew what was behind that door. Just to be sure, I asked Marco, while still keeping an eye on the Controllers. I tried to send the question just to him.

Marco, you guys do know what's behind that door? I asked quietly. I had hoped that no one else had heard me talk.

I'm assuming it's the usual Yeerk pool, with Taxxons and Hork-Bajir? he asked. I had no idea what Taxxons or Hork-Bajir were, but I grinned as best I could. Then the plan clicked.

Guys, here's what we're going to do, I started. I told them my plan. They agreed, and we went inside the door. It appeared that no one had heard me, which was a good thing. Having the enemy know your battle plans isn't the ideal thing, in my opinion.

As I had predicted, they weren't ready for us behind that door. The humans in cages cowered farther back, and the ones in line ran. Some made it, and others were shot down. One of them fell right in front of me, shot right through the middle. I could see others being chopped down by the walking razor blades.

No! I yelled.

Kitty, get a grip! Marco said. Things happen. Keep to the plan! 

But- 

Keep going, he said grimly. I didn't have much choice. A walking razor blade was coming my way. I leapt out of its way, and then thought better of it. I leapt on its back, and bit its neck. It went down fast. I didn't have time to think about my first kill, when I heard a scream. Tommy!

He was by the pool, cornered by huge centipedes and walking razor blades. He had a terrified look on his face. It wasn't the same Tommy that had led us here. He was different somehow. Then I knew why.

Loren, some help please? I asked. I didn't know where she had been, but she was by my side in an instant. She saw what I was looking at, and agreed.

We howled, and leapt at the circle surrounding Tommy. I took down a centipede, and Loren munched off a razor blade's head.

Tommy, get out of here! I yelled. He looked at the wolf that had saved him, and ran. We finished off the razor blades, as the centipedes were busy eating their wounded comrade. I wanted to be sick, but I didn't have time.

Tsseeeew!

Ahhhh! I screamed. It had hit my shoulder. There was a burning sensation, and I collapsed onto my front.

Kitty! My mom cried.

I'm good, I said shakily. I stood up, and limped on three legs, but I could still fight. I wanted to fight. These Yeerks deserved to die for what they did.

Jason! Where was he? I looked madly around for him, and focused all my senses on finding him in the dim chamber. There, by the far wall. He was still trapped in a cage. There was a mean-looking razor by him.

Let's get him, Loren said. She had seen Jason too. She raced over there, and had killed the razor by the time I had gotten there. Jason looked at us with fear, then amazement as we found the key to his cage on the dead body, and unlocked him. He was with another woman, and they both ran for the door.

By now, the door was guarded. But not by their people. By Marco. He stood there, looking very proud of himself, and knocking any person that ran at him on the head. With his massive fists, that was a deadly blow to anyone.

They're our people! I screamed at Marco as he raised a huge fist to conk Jason one. He lowered his hand, and let them by.

I assumed that the other room had been taken care of by my mom and Tobias, as they were nowhere in the pool area. Loren, Marco, and I surveyed the devastation, decided that we were done for the moment, and went to help my mom and Tobias.

The refugees were sitting on the steps, cowering. I didn't know why they hadn't left, but there they were.

Get out of here! I bellowed at them. They stared at me in amazement. I could imagine what was going through their minds. "Oh my gosh, a wolf is talking to me!" Go! I screamed. One by one, they stood up, and ran. At least they were out of our way.

My mom and Tobias were cornered by a few humans and a razor. They all held those little weapons. I started to run over, but my leg was still useless. I ran as fast as I could over to where Tobias was.

Kitty, go over in the corner and demorph. Then morph right back again. Your leg will be healed. I'll cover you, Marco said. I stopped in my tracks, and turned around. I ducked behind the bar, and did as he asked. He was right, my leg healed. I gawked at my leg for a moment, and then the noises of the battle pushed through my amazement. I had to help Tobias.

I joined the fray again. The battle was all around me. Jump, bite, circle, claw. Jump, bite, circle, claw. Over and over again. I couldn't hold out forever, though. There were more Controllers coming through the door from the pool by the second. Soon I was alone and encircled. I fought with my claws and my teeth, but I had no real concept of how to fight as a wolf. I had just been faking it, and had been able to get away with it until now. But I couldn't do it any longer. I let its mind take over me.

She knew how to fight. Oh yes sir she did. She jumped and slashed and bit and clawed her way through the enclosing ring of enemies. She was hurt, but she didn't care. Battle rage had that effect on a person. She jumped, wheeled around, and bit the jugular of a razor. Then turned again, and slashed a centipede. It's comrades fell upon it with the zeal of a person eating a nice juicy steak after not eating for a week. But no eyes were on me at that moment.

That gave me the opening I needed. I ran over to the other wolf in my sight. She wasn't having such a good time. I clawed and bit my way to her. Then we fought side by side until our opponents were all dead or dying. Then we turned to my mom and Tobias.

They were backed into a corner, surrounded, and the circle was closing rapidly. I jumped onto a centipede's back, and left it an oozing mess. As before, all of the centipedes within the circle fell to it. Then there were the razors. They came after us with a vengeance, but then they stopped. The humans had done the same thing. All of them were carrying those funny-looking weapons. Most were pointed at the bird, and the rest at the wolf. There was indecision among them, however. They didn't want to turn their back to either group. When Marco came lumbering towards us, their mind was made up for them. They all turned to us.

That gave my mom and Tobias room to attack. As Marco picked up two humans and cracked their heads together, my mom lunged for the nearest razor, and twisted in just enough time to avoid the beam of red light. She killed him quickly. Then she was on to her next opponent.

Tsseeeew!

I dodged just in time. My fur was singed, but I didn't care. I wove my way through the crowd of humans and razors, biting here and there. They couldn't shoot me because I was so close to them. I bit and clawed a path to Tobias. He was grounded, and I saw the trickle of blood coming from his wing.

Morph, I said. I'll cover. 

No time, he said painfully. I could almost feel the life draining from him. He had been hurt a long time, and still was trying to hold off his own death.

Do it! I said more forcefully. He sighed in my head, and I knew that he had started to morph. I held off the few humans that were facing us, and killed two of them. I stole one of their weapons, and swept it behind me to the newly formed human who stood above me.

He was small and sandy-haired, and looked no older than I was. That little pause in my concentration was all the time my attacker needed. He was on me. I had taken his weapon, and damaged one of his hands. So he had every reason to be mad with me. Then he tried grabbing my throat. Big mistake. A wolf's fur is thickest there, and is very hard to penetrate. I twisted out of his feeble grip easily, and then was on him. I took him down, and chomped down on his neck. He screamed, and was still. I growled, and backed up to get closer to Tobias. He had morphed back into a hawk, and flew above me, still holding the weapon.

Thanks, he said quickly, and then he was off to battle. Again, I was alone in a circle of assailants. Why had he left me? There were too many of them, and they were growing more numerous!

But they advance on me warily. They knew what I could do. I let a little of the wolf's mind in, but not all. She didn't know how to deal with weapons. Not that I did, but I had a better clue than she. Tsseeeew! I jumped, and twisted in midair enough to dodge, then attacked the one who had shot at me. She went down and stayed there. With that, the circle broke and ran. I guessed that I had taken their leader.

I loped over to Marco, who was standing there doing nothing. My mom, Tobias, and Loren were next to him. There was nothing more coming from the door. We surveyed the damage we had done. I watched a few Controllers run up the stairs, but they didn't bother me. Not until later, that is.

Ready for the fun? Marco asked me.

Always, I said happily. The battle had strangely exhilarated me. But at the same time it had sickened me. I needed the energy, so I let myself be exhilarated. We went through the door, to the pool room.

It wasn't empty, as we'd hoped.

How many people does this thing hold? I asked to no one in particular. I thought we had cleared it out.

However many it wants to, an unfamiliar voice said. We all looked at each other. There were two things that it could have been. One, it could have been an Andalite, or two, it could have been someone in morph.

I looked around frantically, and saw a huge creature looming at the far side of the pool. I went closer, and discovered that it was a rhinoceros. It stepped into the pool. The pool wasn't that deep, maybe up to it's belly. It came lumbering at us at an amazing pace. I didn't know much about rhinos. Only that their skin was tougher than anything I could pierce with my teeth.

And we get rid of this thing how? Marco asked.

How am I supposed to know? I yelped.

You're the one with the ideas, he reminded me. Oh yeah, I was, wasn't I? Well, I didn't have any at that moment. Or did I?

Surround the pool. Tobias? Do you still have that weapon? 

Yes, I do, came the reply. He sounded used to taking orders. I didn't realize until later that that's what I had been doing.

Do you know how to use it? I asked

Sort of, he said.

Set it as high as it will go, and fire it- I trailed off.

Fire it where? he asked.

It's throat it weak, my mom said. Fire it there. 

We surrounded our side of the pool, and awaited the rhino. It wasn't very long in coming. It waded through the pool quickly. As it approached, I jumped up and onto it. Stupid idea, but it distracted the beast. I hung on for all I was worth, and tried not to get thrown off.

Kitty, what the- Marco said, astounded.

Tsseeeew! The beam hit the side of its neck, and seared my fur. I yelped in pain, but hung onto the tough hide.

Sorry, Kitty, Tobias said as he flew higher. I hoped the ceiling was high enough for him to do what he needed to. The rhino bucked under me. I dug my claws in as far as they would go, which wasn't very far. He reared up onto his hind legs, something I didn't think a rhino could do, and managed to throw me. I fell, down and down. Down for what seemed like an eternity.

I hit the sludgy liquid. I could feel the slug-like things rubbing up against me. It may not have been deep to the rhino, but it was definitely deep for me. I was trying to swim in the viscous liquid with a rhino stomping around like a madman. Not a good thing. I was sinking! I couldn't touch! I tried paddling faster.

Kitty! came Loren's anguished cry.

Tsseeeew! A beam sliced the air above me. The rhino roared in pain. Then he started to fall. I had nowhere to go.

Kitty! No! Tobias dove from the sky, and grabbed the fur of my neck, and tried to drag my miserable wolf form away from the falling gargantuan. I was already paddling as fast as I could. But a red-tailed hawk trying to drag a wet wolf more than ten times its size didn't exactly work.

The rhino caught itself, and landed on all fours, and drenched Tobias and I with the sludge, barely missing us with its feet. Tobias gurgled and spat a bit, but he came up finally, still holding onto my fur. Then the rhino began to change.

Guys, I said shakily. It's been almost two hours. You have to demorph. 

Already did, Marco said smugly. Cassie, your turn. She sighed, and went off into the corner. In a few moments, she was back, good as new. I didn't know how I knew it had been two hours. I'd always had good time sense, though.

Loren? I asked.

Been there, done that, she said. Then I concentrated on the newly formed human. He had a weapon. I finally reached an edge to the pool, and clambered out. Tobias was still on top of me.

Can you fly? I asked him privately, trying to balance him on my back while moving as fast as I could.

No. My wings are still wet, he said matter-of-factly.

Dry them off. 

Real helpful, Kitty. 

Look, you got a better idea? 

Yeah, run. 

Sounds good. I ran, and Tobias hung on for dear life. I was very glad that my fur was thick. Otherwise my back would have been torn to shreds.

I ran back behind Marco. Tobias climbed up to Marco's shoulders.

My wings are almost dry, he said lightly.

Good. Use them, I said. I demorphed. As I was doing so, he said,

Yes, ma'am! He took off, and dive-bombed the human. Tobias' speed was slowed a little by the sludge on his wings, but he still managed to surprise the human. I changed back into a wolf. I was ready.

The human cried out in agony as Tobias raked his talons across the his face. Then Tobias bit down on the guy's arm, hard. I could hear the snapping of the forearm. I didn't know that hawks' jaws were so strong. Then Tobias flew off. I sent Marco in next. I would go next. He did not surprise the human. But a human compared to a full-sized gorilla, even a human with a weapon, is not a good match.

The human raised his weapon, but only in time for Marco to knock him upside the head. Tobias went right after, and raked his talons again across the poor man's eyes.

He just won't learn, will he, Tobias said. He's not dead yet. 

If you don't have to kill him, then don't, my mom protested. Remember, he's a Controller. If you can get the Yeerk out of him, he'll be fine. 

Good idea, said Marco. He picked up the human like he as a rag doll, and carried him over to where we were. Marco plopped him down in front of us. He stared at us with wonder and fear. His one eye was a bloody mess. I didn't like that, but it was done. I looked at him, and I could almost see the Yeerk inside his head quiver in fear. He knew he was outgunned.

Who are you? I demanded. I stepped forward and asked. He spat on me, and wouldn't answer. I was surprised that he could see, in fact. Tobias had gotten him pretty good.

I'll ask you one more time, who are you? He still didn't answer. Instead, he stood up, and dove into the pool through the gap between Loren and I.

Uh oh, Loren said. I knew something was going to happen, but what happened was worse than I could have imagined.

What surfaced out of that pool was not a pretty sight. I couldn't identify the creature. It didn't have much color to it, but it was big. And it had a lot of eyes and legs. It's legs were sturdy, and had things that looked like hands. And in one of them was the weapon. We all backed up on instinct.

Who's bigger now? sneered the beast. We didn't answer. I stood in front of everyone else, and growled. I took one look at its skin, and knew that it was soft and fleshy, no problem to bite through.

I jumped as far as I could, and landed on one of its lower legs. I bit and clawed my way up. Sure enough, the skin was soft as butter. There was only one problem, its blood was acidic. I kept myself from screaming as I climbed up its body. I tore my way up as fast as I could safely manage. I didn't want to fall back into that pool.

I knew the creature wouldn't shoot me for a few reasons. One of those being it couldn't see me, and it didn't want to shoot itself, and it probably figured that its blood would kill me. I kept climbing, hopefully to get to it's neck, where it would lose the most blood from, and would hopefully die.

The burns were really hurting now. I stopped for a moment, and looked down. I was a good ways up, but wolves were not made for climbing. I stopped, and braced myself on a leg, and started ripping a big hole in its flesh. The dark purple blood gushed out of the opening, all over me. I leapt up, and kept on climbing, doing as much damage as I could on my way up. There was no way I was ever going to reach the top. The blood was trickling down me, burning through my fur and into my skin. But I still held on. Clawing my way up his soft hide, I ripped and tore as much as I could. But it was painful.

I finally cried out in pain. I saw Tobias come over to me, to distract the beast, but my legs wouldn't hold on any longer. They were burned too bad. I fell about thirty feet down, into the pool. I hit it with a sickening thump, and started sinking. The pain was far away, almost as if someone else was feeling it. I felt those slugs try to crawl on me, and try to get into my head. I was sinking rapidly, and my world was going black. I saw Marco come through the pool, and pick m up with one hand, while with the other, he was fighting the monster. I laid in the crook of his arm limply. He knocked the creature good and hard over the head, and it wavered a little, but stood firm. Marco turned and took me back to the group.

Where's Tobias? I managed to ask Marco weakly.

He's still over there, he said grimly, not looking back. That gave me a little strength.

Tobias, leave- I didn't finish my sentence.

Tsseeeew!

Ahhhh! Tobias cried. Marco turned around enough so that I could watch Tobias plummet down, down, into the pool. He weakly fluttered his wing, but it didn't do any good, and the other was useless.

Tobias! I cried.

No! my mom yelled.

She leapt to the edge of the pool, as if to go after Tobias, who was the monster's main attention. Loren stepped in front of her, barring her way.

There's nothing we can do! She growled at my mother. My mother turned and walked away from the pool. I watched one of the monster's legs reach into the pool, and pull up a half drowned bird. I wondered if a Yeerk had gotten inside of him, but then I remembered that they had to go through the ear canal, and Tobias' was probably too small. Marco turned away as the monster dangled Tobias up above his mouth. I heard a triumphant roar as we left the pool room. There was nothing more we could do.

Tobias was gone. I could feel it. As much pain as I was in, I could still feel more. I sat there in Marco's grip, too numb even to feel the acid still burning through me. Tobias was dead. I had been stupid. I had lead this group into a battle, not knowing anything about it! Tobias was gone! I burrowed closer to Marco, and curled up in as tight a ball as I could. I was losing coordination, I noted as I tried to move. But I didn't care.

We started up the steps. Two wolves, and a gorilla carrying another wolf. A pretty sad company. We trudged up the stairs, with my mom's sobs in our heads. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. I was still in shock. I had gotten Tobias killed. He was gone. He was the one who had helped us get these powers; he was someone that could have helped us more!

No, I moaned softly.

Kitty, demorph. That acid will kill you, came Marco's soft voice. I saw him look down at me, but my vision was growing dimmer. Good, let it, I thought to myself. I didn't move. I stayed there in Marco's grip until we reached to top of the stairs. Which was a long time, and by then all of my appendages were either numb, or useless. Everyone looked at me, but I looked away from them. They wanted me to make a decision. I stayed silent.

Look where my decisions had led us. Tobias was gone, and we had killed countless numbers of beings down in that pit. Is this what it was really like? I asked myself. Is this how every battle was going to be? Killing and carnage? Is that what was necessary to save the world?

Okay, everyone, demorph, Marco said finally. He set me down. Everyone demorphed. Even me. I didn't want to. I didn't want to face what my life would be after that day. Because I knew. I knew what was going to have to happen. This would become routine. We would battle to save the planet, and people would die. My decisions would kill people. That was too much for me.

"Kitty," Loren started. She was worried about me. They all were. I looked at them sadly.

"Let's get back," I said. Marco checked to see if anyone was up in the library. No one was, and it was dark out. We'd been down in that pit for a long time. But we'd left the pool intact. And we'd left a witness. We were going to be in major trouble for that later, I knew.

It was a long, silent walk home. Marco and my mom could have morphed birds, gone back, and driven the car over, but we all wanted longer to think. We had all been hit hard. But I think that it was Marco and my mom who were hit the hardest. They had known Tobias since they had fought this same war. They thought that it was over. But it wasn't, and I was bringing them back into it.

We walked down dark, deserted streets for hours, wandering aimlessly, but all the while getting closer to home. It was probably close to midnight when we got into the house. The first thing I did was call Tommy and Jason. I wanted them to come over. They thought I was nuts, asking them to come over at midnight, but they came. They were both really shaken up. They sat there in the kitchen, not saying anything. Jason looked at the ground, and his small face was contorted with confusion, among other things. Tommy's muscular body shook. Finally, he looked up at me. He was going to have to start this one.

"So, you know what happened at the library?" he asked softly, staring at me.

"We don't just know," I said quietly. "We were there." Everyone stared at me as if I was nuts.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Marco yelled.

"They're not Controllers anymore. If we're going to do this, we're going to need help," I explained. Marco sighed.

"I suppose it is your choice. It's your group now, Kitty."

"What?" I had lead them into battle, true, but to be their leader? Their confirmed leader? I didn't like assuming responsibility like that, but I guess that I didn't have much of a choice at that moment. I stared at him.

"You heard me," he said in resignation. I shook my head, and continued.

"Well, I suppose you two know all about the Yeerks, then," I started. They both nodded, and tried to smile. They were still both scared out of their wits.

"What happened to us one night enabled us to fight them," I paused. "We now have the power to change into any animal we can touch. And since you know a lot of things about them, we," I gestured to Loren, "would like to make you one of ours."

"And that means what?" Jason said. He was tall and skinny, with red hair and a medium complexion. He stared up at us from his chair with his big brown eyes.

"It means that we're going to give you the same power all of us have," Loren finished. I nodded. She ran upstairs and got the cube.

"Which would be what?" Tommy asked.

"To turn into animals," I answered. His jaw dropped.

"You were the animals?" he asked, astounded.

"Yes, we were," I said sadly. Tobias' death was still fresh in my mind. Loren came back with the cube. I handed it to my mom.

"Mom, you know how to do this," I said. She sighed, and got up from her chair.

"Put your hands on it," she said. The two boys did as they were told. Then Loren and I did.

The same tingling sensation that I had gotten the first time filled me again. I knew that my two friends were experiencing it as well. When it was done, we all opened our eyes.

"Nothing's different," Tommy said.

"Yes there is," I replied. "Come with me." With that, I led him and Jason to the barn, to pick their first morphs. Tommy wanted a bald eagle, and Jason wanted a fox. After telling them how to acquire it, and trying to do so by flashlight, we all went back into the house, and we cheered up a little. Tommy and Jason stayed the night, but we didn't sleep at all. When the sun was up, we all went outside.

We all went out into the woods to watch Tommy and Jason try to morph. Then Marco started talking to us about thought-speech. There would be more lectures, I'm sure. But I was glad that I knew something now, and didn't have to figure it all out by myself, as they once had to. I paid close attention to Marco. It was an odd sight, though. A gorilla was teaching a class of two wolves, a fox, and an eagle. We were all clustered around the cave. When that lecture was done, we went back to the house. I was still disturbed about Tobias, and what had happened yesterday, so I went to the cave.

I didn't know why I always went to the cave. It soothed me, for unknown reasons. Maybe it was the sound of the water in the background, or maybe it was just the fact that it was there my life changed forever.

Please review the story. And don't be afraid to point out any mistakes.


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